The Storm Approaches: Year 5
by 1seddiefan
Summary: Hailey Potter is starting her fifth year of Hogwarts. With the wizarding world trying to turn her into a joke and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts refusing to teach them how to defend themselves from Voldemort, that leaves Hailey and her friends no choice. They have to rally as many people as they can to prepare them for an upcoming war. Slight AU. On hiatus.
1. Dudley Demented

A/N: I'm actually surprised to have made it to Year 5. I never thought that I would make it this far. All I knew was that I had the endgame planned, I wanted Hailey to be in Ravenclaw and not Slytherin, and not have it be Draco/Hailey, but to make it this far is amazing.

The face-claim to Hailey is Elizabeth Gillies.

* * *

The skinny fifteen-year-old girl was lying in the flowerbed under the window of Number 4 Privet Drive. She wore combat boots, black skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees, an overly large baggy shirt that had once belonged to her overweight cousin, and combat boots. Her hair, which was turning brown, had a red tint to it, was messy, and on her forehead was a lightning bolt scar. She had grown another inch over the summer now making her 5'6. Her overall appearance was the bane of her neighbours' existence. What didn't help was that her aunt and uncle told everyone that Hailey went to Saint Mercy's Institution for Wayward Girls, a school for troubled girls, to explain her long absences.

It was kind of hilarious back then, but after recent events in June, she was certainly feeling more troubled now.

Her hiding under the window enabled her to listen to the news without having her aunt and uncle grind their teeth, or get suspicious glares for daring to the watch the news or get questioned about why she was watching _their_ news since she has her _own_ news.

So, Hailey hid under the window, trying to hear the news, which was getting a little frustrating because her uncle said, "Glad that the girl's stopped trying to butt in. Where is she at anyway?"

"Not in the house," Petunia replied in a happy, unconcerned voice. "Maybe she's outside pulling up the weeds or something."

Uncle Vernon grunted, "Better not be around boys, especially not around that good-for-nothing boy from King's Cross."

Hailey felt her face turn red at the memory. Her friend or boyfriend, they haven't discussed their relationship status yet because she wanted to do it in person instead over owl, had kissed her goodbye at King's Cross. Unfortunately, Vernon witnessed it and had ranted at her in the car all the way back to Privet Drive about having no boyfriends because they need to keep up the appearance of normalcy, which just made Hailey blush furiously throughout the entire rant.

If he reacted over that over one kiss, she didn't want to know how he would've reacted if he found out that they had kissed a few more times before that; a few more times on the Hogwarts Express and once by accident in the Quidditch pitch when she was thirteen, after she won the game making Ravenclaw advance to the Quidditch Cup. Or what he would say if he found out that she was at Michael's flat for a week; even though their friend Mandy was there, too.

She did know that Michael's shaggy black hair and kind of creepy looking appearance had given him the impression of him being a good-for-nothing boy.

Hailey watched her old cat-loving babysitter, Mrs Figg, walk slowly by. She lived on Wisteria Walk. Every time Hailey had ran into Mrs Figg, the elderly woman kept asking her over for tea. The teen would've agreed, but the house smelt like boiled cabbage, the cake was stale, and Mrs Figg showed her pictures of all her previous cats. Hailey was a little fond Mrs Figg, but she didn't have the time, because she was more focused on the news. She got the _Daily Prophet_ every day, but the newspaper didn't even mention the return or Voldemort, so she sat by and listened to the news trying to find any sort of clue or strange disappearance, but there was nothing.

Her friends, Mandy and Michael kept sending her newspaper articles that mentioned her and articles that even mentioned her, some weren't just not by name. Those articles made her out to be some attention seeking, madwoman. So far, her favourite piece of nastiness was the one about an accident and ' _let's hope she hasn't got a scar on her forehead or we'll be asking to worship her next_.' The three Ravenclaws believed that Fudge was behind it and Rita Skeeter was lying out the formula to make Hailey very untrustworthy.

Vernon asked, "Dudders out for tea?"

"At the Polkisses'," replied Aunt Petunia sounding fond. "He's got so many little friends, he's so popular…"

Hailey repressed a snort because the Dursleys were so blind when it came to their son. She knew that Dudley hadn't been out having tea with his friends. On her evening walks, she saw Dudley and his gang vandalizing the play park, smoking on street corners, and throwing stones at passing cars and children.

There were opening music notes for the seven o'clock news which made Hailey perk up because maybe tonight would be the night for—

"Record numbers of stranded holidaymakers fill the airports as the Spanish baggage-handlers' strike reaches its second week—"

"Give 'em a lifelong siesta, I would," snarled Vernon interrupting the newsreader's report.

Hailey relaxed, because if the news reports were full of strikes, instead of death, destruction, and disappearances, it was good. She tensed up again, wondering if it will happen tomorrow.

There was a report about the drought in the Southeast, a report about a helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Surrey, a report about a famous actress divorcing her famous husband, and a report on Bungy the budgie who went water-skiing at the Five Feathers in Barnsley.

 _CRACK!_

Hailey jumped to her feet and smashed her head on the window sill. Even though she was dazed, she saw a cat run out from under a parked car, she heard Petunia scream, Vernon swearing loudly, and breaking china.

Hailey pulled out her wand from the waistband of her jeans and tried to find the source of the sound, even though her eyes were streaming with tears.

Two large, beefy hands wrapped themselves around her upper arms. " _Put! It! Away!_ " Vernon snarled in Hailey's face as he shook her rather roughly. " _Now! Before! Anyone! Sees!_ "

"Let! Go! Of! Me!" Hailey ordered using the same tone, as she tried to pry her uncle's large, sausage-sized fingers off her right arm with her left hand, while she kept a tight hold of her wand in her right hand. Her head throbbed, and Vernon yelped, releasing Hailey's arms as if he received an electric shock.

Hailey stumbled backward, nearly ending up in the hydrangea bush. She looked around, but there weren't any signs of the cracking noise and she hastily put her wand back in her jeans and tried to act like she didn't own a wand.

"What the _devil_ do you mean by it, _girl?_ " Vernon demanded through gritted teeth.

"I didn't do it," Hailey responded, feeling agitated of being accused of making a cracking sound.

Petunia appeared next to her husband, looking livid. "Why were you lurking under our window?"

"Yes—yes, good point, Petunia!" Vernon responded calmly to his wife. To his niece, he bellowed, " _What were you doing under our window, girl?_ "

Hailey sighed and responded, "Listening to the news."

Vernon and Petunia looked at each other in outrage. Vernon spat, "Listening to the news! _Again?_ "

"It changes every day you know," replied Hailey.

Vernon snarled, "Don't you be clever with me, girl! I want to know what you're really up to—and don't give me any more of this," he used a high-pitched voice, "' _listening to the news_ ' crap!" He had gone back to using his normal voice, "You know perfectly well that _your lot_ —"

"Careful, Vernon!" warned Petunia.

"—that _your lot_ doesn't even get on _our_ news!" Vernon finished in a voice so low that Hailey had barely heard.

"As far as you know," replied Hailey. Her aunt and uncle goggled at her for a few seconds.

Petunia said, "You're a nasty little liar. What are all those—" she lowered her voice, "—owls—doing if they're not bringing you news?"

"Aha," Vernon whispered triumphantly. "Get out of that one, girl! As if we didn't know you get your news from those pestilential birds!"

Hailey was feeling too annoyed to even be shocked that Vernon knew what 'pestilential' meant and used in a proper sentence. "The owls aren't…bringing me news."

"I don't believe you," Petunia said.

"No more do I," replied Vernon.

"We know you're up to something funny," stated Petunia.

Vernon stated, "We're not stupid, you know."

"Well, _that's_ certainly news to me," said Hailey scathingly, feeling angry. She turned and walked away before the Dursleys can call her back. She stepped over the low garden wall and walked up the street.

She knew that she was going to be in trouble, but she would face the consequences later for being rude, but she didn't care. She had more pressing matters to think over.

The cracking sound was someone Apparating or Disapparating, because it was the sound Dobby, the house-elf, made when he sometimes vanishes. Maybe Dobby followed her onto Privet Drive, but it was impossible for house-elves to be invisible, but then again, no one knew what the extent of house-elves' magic was. She knew that they were powerful enough to Apparate and Disapparate on school grounds, despite the barriers limiting witches and wizards.

She walked on, glancing back every so often because someone magical had been near her as she was lying in the garden, but why didn't they show themselves to her? But then again, maybe they didn't know she was right there.

It could've been something else other than something magical. She could be so desperate for something magical; she assumed that the cracking sound was something magical.

She felt helpless again like she had been feeling all summer.

Tomorrow at five in the morning, she would get up to the alarm and pay the owl that delivered the _Daily Prophet_ , but she wondered if there was any point on receiving it. She only looked at the front page and tossed it to the side. Voldemort's return would obviously be headline news, that is, if the idiots that wrote the newspaper actually acknowledged his return and stopped trying to smear her name some more.

If she was lucky, there would be owls carrying letters from her other best friends: Ron and Hermione. However, her expectations were destroyed.

Some of the letters from Ron and Hermione went:

 _"We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously…"  
_ _"We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray…"  
_ _"We're quite busy, but I can't give details here…"  
_ _"There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you…"_

Those letters sent Hailey writing to Mandy and Michael about what was going on with Hermione and Ron.

Mandy and Michael didn't know what was going on, because they got nearly the same responses from the two Gryffindors, even if their letters were short.

Mandy said that she couldn't reply because she was lying low just in case Voldemort's tracks her down, but expected to see her on the Hogwarts Express. She did send a few letters to her detailing funny things her dog did, some letters detailed some of the beasts that her dad fought, or sent her a few pictures of her new cat, Sami, for her fifteenth birthday. Sami happened to be a long-haired tortoiseshell cat, with a mix of orange-and-black fur, that had black paws. The pictures mainly consisted of Sami sleeping. She did say that Ron and Hermione weren't telling her what they were up to, which was angering her because of the lack of answers, which got to the point Mandy stopped writing letters to them.

Michael said that he couldn't talk much because of Voldemort and his parents hovering over him, although he managed to send a few letters detailing that his cousin, Eva, is still making lots of Galleons, even though he has no clue how she was making money. He did say that he missed her, couldn't wait till he saw her on the Hogwarts Express, and wanted her to stay safe. He did send her a few short letters saying that he tried asking what the two Gryffindors were doing, but he had no luck.

The three Ravenclaws agreed that it seemed like the two Gryffindors were at the same place together, but doing what, they weren't sure what was going on.

For Hailey's birthday, Hermione had written, " _I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon,_ " in her birthday card. Hailey wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. The sweets that they all sent her were a good thing because for dinner that evening, she ended up with a pathetic excuse of a salad.

For her birthday, Michael had sent her more beaded bracelets that Eva made, while Eva sent her own, which was a three-layered bracelet, that had Hailey's name as the first layer, then the second had heart beads, and the third layer was Michael's name. Eva had left a cryptic little note that said: _I know_. Hailey left that bracelet in her trunk because she wasn't sure what Dudley would've said about it. He probably would've destroyed it.

She turned onto Magnolia Crescent. Halfway along, she passed a narrow alley of the side of a garage, where she had first locked eyes with her godfather, Sirius. He had sent her letters too, but they were cautious and consoling, with things like:

 _"I know this is frustrating to you…"  
_ _"Keep your nose clean and everything will be okay…"  
_ _"Be careful and don't do anything rash…"_

She turned onto Magnolia Road, heading straight to the darkening playground. Well, she didn't do anything rash, like packing up her trunk, tying it to a broomstick, and head to the Burrow or head to Mandy's home and Michael's flat or hop on the Knight Bus with her stuff. She deserved a round of applause for even staying and put up with the Dursleys for as long as she did. She exhibited good behaviour after being reduced to hiding in a flowerbed just to listen to the news which might have some clue about what Voldemort was doing, even if the _Daily Prophet_ was turning her into a joke and refusing Voldemort's return.

She climbed the locked park gate and walked across the dry lawn to a swing that Dudley and his gang hadn't broken. She sat in the swing and grabbed the chains as she glared at the ground.

She had to find a new place to listen to the news and after, she nothing to look forward to, besides having another strange dream of a long, dark corridor that ended with dead-ends and locked doors, which resulted in her having a trapped feeling when she woke up. The lightning bolt scar always prickled uncomfortably, but she didn't want to fool herself into thinking that her friends would find that interesting. Besides, her scar always hurt whenever Voldemort was getting stronger, but now that he's back, it had to be expected…so it was nothing to worry about.

Streetlamps were now casting a misty glow over some figures, making them look like silhouettes. The figures were going across the park; one male was singing a crude song that mad the others laugh. There was a ticking noise the came from the expensive racing bikes that they rode.

Hailey narrowed her eyes at Dudley and his gang. Dudley was obviously in the front. He was still large, but for a year he had been a diet and became a Junior Heavyweight Inter-School Boxing Champion of the Southeast, that Vernon took a lot of care to brag about and always called it a noble sport.

Back in their primary school days, Dudley seemed a lot more formidable, but now, he was pathetic compared to what she saw. She wasn't scared of him, but him knowing how to punch harder and accurately wasn't something to celebrate over.

The neighbourhood children were terrified of him—even more terrified than they were of "that Potter girl" who was troubled. Some of the boys her age seemed more interested in the fact that she was troubled, because they seemed to fancy that. She managed to get them to back off by saying she had a boyfriend went to St Brutus' Secure Center for Incurable Criminal Boys and that he had done something really inhumane to a few boys who had decided to bother her. It caused those boys to leave her alone. She was sure that if she asked, Michael would show up and play the part, if they continued to harass her.

She scowled as she watched Dudley and his gang cross the grass, wondering who they had been beating up.

They went out of sight, heading along Magnolia Road. Hailey stood up because her aunt and uncle believed that whenever Dudley returned, it was the right time to be home, so anytime after that was much too late. Once, Hailey returned a few minutes after Dudley, and Vernon roared at her about boys, appearing normal, and threatened to lock Hailey in the shed if she ever returned home after Dudley again. She stifled a yawned and scowled again as she stomped to the park gate.

Hailey liked Little Whinging at night because the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colours in the darkness and she didn't have to hear disapproving mutters about her 'delinquent' appearance when she passed the households. Halfway along Magnolia Road, Dudley's gang had finished saying farewells at the entrance to Magnolia Crescent.

"Bye Dud!"

"See ya, Big D!"

The gang had left and she came into view of Dudley, who was strolling along, humming.

Hailey shouted, "Hey, Big D, over here!"

Dudley turned and narrowed his eyes at Hailey. "Oh, it's just you."

Hailey smirked, "How long have you been called 'Big D'? Is it short for something?"

"Shut it!" ordered Dudley turning away again.

"You know, you'll always be known as Ickle Diddykins to me," Hailey said.

"I said, _shut it_!" snarled Dudley, making fists.

"Shouldn't your friends know that what your mum calls you?" taunted Hailey.

"Shut your face," Dudley replied, looking like he was close to punching Hailey.

She knew that Dudley wouldn't even dare to punch her in the face, but probably the stomach. She pointed out, "You don't tell your _mum_ to shut her face. Since I can't call you that, can I call you 'popkin' and 'Dinky Diddydums' then?" Dudley didn't say anything, because it looked like it was taking all of his self-control to not hit her. "So, who've you been beating up tonight?" Her smirk was beginning to fade, "Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans in two nights ago—"

"He was asking for it," interrupted a snarling Dudley.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Hailey, "How?" She wanted to hear the lame 'reason' that justified in beating up a ten-year-old.

"He cheeked me," responded Dudley, as if that was a good reason to beat someone up.

"Is that so?" asked Hailey. "Did he say that you look like a pig that has been to walk on its two hind legs? You know that's not cheek, because it's true…" A muscle twitched in Dudley's jaw and she felt satisfied knowing how furious she was making Dudley.

They turned right down the narrow alley, which was a shortcut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and really dark.

"Think you're so tough carrying that thing around, don't you?" Dudley said.

"What thing?" prompted Hailey, knowing what Dudley meant.

"That—that thing you're hiding," Dudley sputtered.

Hailey smirked again, "I see that you're not as stupid as you look, which is a miracle in itself. I s'pose if you were, you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time…" She pulled out her wand and gave it a twirl.

Dudley looked at it, "You're not allowed. I know you're not. You'd get expelled from that freak school you go to."

"How d'you know if that they didn't change the rules, Big D?" questioned Hailey.

"They haven't," responded Dudley, though he sounded like he wasn't convinced. Hailey giggled and Dudley snarled, "You haven't got the guts to take me on without that thing, have you?"

"Says the one that needed four mates behind him just to beat up a ten-year-old," Hailey counted. "You know that boxing title you and your dad keep banging on about? How old was your opponent? Seven? Eight?"

"He was sixteen for your information," snarled Dudley, "and he was out cold for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him and he was four times as heavy as you. You just wait till I tell Dad you had that thing out—"

"Oh, so you're running to Daddy now, are you?" Hailey taunted, "Is ickle boxing champ frightened of nasty Hailey's wand?" She waved it in front of Dudley's face, who stumbled backward to get away from it.

It looked like he had regained his composure, because he sneered, "Not this brave at night, are you?"

"Very good, Dudley," Hailey responded, "That's what they call it when it goes all dark like this." She motioned all around her.

"I mean when you're in bed!" Dudley snarled.

Hailey stared at her cousin. From what she could make out, it looked like her cousin was looking triumphant. She tried to sound unconcerned, "What d'you mean, I'm not brave in bed? What—am I supposed to be frightened of pillows or something?"

"I heard you last night, talking in your sleep," Dudley responded, sound triumphant, " _Moaning_."

Hailey felt cold because she had the nightmare of the graveyard where her fellow Triwizard champion had been killed by Voldemort and she had nearly gotten killed by Voldemort. "What do you mean by that, Dud?"

Dudley did a harsh laugh and used a high-pitched, whimpering voice, "'Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!' Who's Cedric—your boyfriend? Whatever happened to that creepy looking boy, Michael? Did he dump you?"

"I—you're lying—" counted Hailey quickly. She knew that Dudley wasn't lying, because how else would Dudley know about Cedric. He could've read a letter she had written but left it unattended for a few minutes, but can Dudley actually _read_?

" _'Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad!'_ " Dudley mocked, still using the high-pitched voice. "Boo-hoo!"

"Shut up," replied Hailey through gritted teeth. "Shut up, Dudley! I'm warning you!'

" _'Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me!'_ " Hailey pulled her wand out, " _'He's going to—'_ " Hailey pointed her wand at Dudley, " _Don't you point that thing at me!_ " He backed into an alley wall.

Hailey pointed the wand where Dudley's heart should be if he even had one. "Don't ever talk about that again! You don't know what I had been through and Cedric is much more of a man that you'll ever be! D'you understand me?" She could feel fourteen years worth of hatred against him.

"Point that thing somewhere else!" Dudley yelled.

"I said, ' _do you understand me?_ '" Hailey snarled.

" _Point it somewhere else!_ " demanded Dudley, looking terrified.

Hailey repeated, " _Do you understand me?_ "

Dudley shouted, " _Get that thing away from—_ " He gave an odd, shuddering gasp because everything seemed to go dark and silent.

For a moment, Hailey thought she had done magic by accident, but she didn't have the power make everything go dark. She turned her head, trying to spot something, but there was nothing.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Dudley demanded, sounding terrified, "St-stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything, you idiot! Shut up and don't move!" ordered Hailey.

"I c-can't see! I've go-gone blind!" Dudley whimpered, "I—"

"I said shut up!" Hailey interrupted, growing frustrated. She stood still, trying to find something, but she couldn't see anything. The cold was so intense, she began shivering.

It was impossible…dementors couldn't be here…not in Little Whinging…she would've heard them…

"I'll t-tell Dad!" Dudley whimpered, "W-where are you? What are you d-do—?"

"Will you shut up?" Hailey hissed at him. "I'm trying to lis—"

A long hoarse, rattling breath interrupted her. That sound was the thing that Hailey was dreading.

"C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!" Dudley shouted.

Hailey snapped, "Dudley, shut—"

 _SMACK_

Dudley slapped Hailey, sending her sprawling to the ground. Her wand had flown out of her hand because she had grabbed her cheek. She yelled, "Dudley, you moron!" Her eyes were watering with pain and she got to her knees. She started feeling the ground, trying to find her wand, as she listened to Dudley stumbling away, and hitting the alley fence.

"Dudley! You're running to it!" Hailey shouted.

There was a squealing yell and silence. There was a chill coming to her, which meant that there's more than one dementor.

"Dudley, keep your mouth shut! Whatever you do, don't open your mouth!" Hailey ordered and muttered, "Wand." She felt the ground, "Where's—wand—come on— _Lumos!_ "

Light flared up, inches from her right hand because the wand tip lit up. Hailey grabbed it, got to her feet, and turned around.

There was a towering, hooded figure, gliding smoothly toward her. It was hovering over the ground. Its feet and face weren't visible because of the robes. It made Hailey feel sick as she stumbled backward. She raised her wand and shouted, " _Expecto Patronum!_ "

A silvery wisp of vapor shot from the wand, which made the dementor slow down a little, but the spell hadn't worked. Hailey tripped over her feet as she retreated farther away from the dementor that was bearing down on her. Panic was making her lose focus.

Grey, slimy looking scabbed hands came from the robes it wore, which were reaching towards her.

There was a rushing noise in Hailey's ears, she shouted, " _Expecto Patronum!_ " Her voice sounded dim and distant to her ears. Another wisp of silver smoke came from the wand, but it looked feebler than the last.

A shrill high-pitched laugh came in her head. She could smell the putrid, death-cold breath from the dementor. She thought, _think…something happy…_ However, she couldn't feel happy…the dementor's icy fingers were closing on her throat. The high-pitched laughter was getting louder and loud, " _Bow to death, Hailey…It might even be painless…I would not know…I have never died…_ "

She was never going to see Michael, never know if they were dating. His face came clearly in her mind as she fought to breathe, " _Expecto Patronum!_ "

A silver doe erupted from the tip of Hailey's wand; its head catching the dementor in the stomach, throwing it backward, as if it was weightless. The doe charged again and the dementor swooped away, defeated.

"This way!" shouted Hailey to the doe. She turned around and ran down the alleyway, holding up her lit wand high. "Dudley?" Her cousin was curled up on the ground, his arms held over his face. A dementor crouched over him, grabbing his wrists, prying them slowly and almost loving apart. "Dudley!" The dementor lowered its hooded head towards Dudley's face, "Get it!"

The doe galloped back past her. The dementor was barely an inch from Dudley when the doe head-butted the dementor away. The dementor was thrown into the air and soared away, like its fellow dementor. The dement was absorbed in the darkness and the doe cantered to the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist.

The moon, stars, and streetlamps came back into existence, like a light switch flicked back on. A warm breeze came into the alley, and Hailey heard trees rustling in the neighbouring garden, and there was a rumble of cars driving in Magnolia Crescent.

Hailey was shaking where she stood, taking in the abrupt return to normality. A part of her couldn't believe what had happened because dementors were there, in Little Whinging…

Dudley was still curled up, whimpering and shaking. Hailey crouched down to see if he was well enough to stand, but she heard someone running behind her. She turned around, raising her wand again, but it was Mrs Figg.

The elderly woman's grizzled grey hair was escaping the hairnet; she had a string shopping tied to her wrist which was holding something that clanked together, and her tartan carpet slippers looked like they were half-on or half-off.

Hailey tried to hide the wand from view, but Mrs Figg shrieked, "Don't put it away, idiot girl! What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to _kill_ Mundungus Fletcher!"

For a moment, Hailey wondered if Dudley slapped her harder than she originally thought, probably giving her a concussion, because there was no way that Mrs Figg knew about the wizarding world. Right? In a blank tone, she said, "What?"


	2. A Peck of Owls

Mrs Figg kept wringing her hands, as if she didn't hear Hailey. "He left! Left to see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell of the back of a broom! I told him I'd flay him alive if he went, and now look! Dementors! It's just lucky I put Mr Tibbles on the case! But we haven't got time to stand around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will _kill_ him!"

Hailey couldn't believe that her batty old cat-obsessed neighbour knew what dementors were. It was almost as a big of a shock as running into two dementors down the alleyway. She stumbled on her words, "You're—you're a _witch_?"

"I'm a Squib, as Mundungus knows full well," Mrs Figg replied. "So how on earth was I supposed to help you fight off dementors? He left you completely without cover when I _warned_ him—"

"So, someone _has_ been following me around?" Hailey interrupted. "Hang on—it was _him_! He Disapparated from the front of my house creating that cracking sound!"

"Yes, yes, _yes,_ but luckily I'd stationed Mr Tibbles under a car just in case, and Mr Tibbles came and warned me, but by the time I got to your house, you'd gone—and now—oh, _what's_ Dumbledore going to say?" Mrs Figg noticed that a shivering and whimpering Dudley was still lying on the ground. She said, "You! Get your fat bottom off the ground, quick!"

"You know who Dumbledore is?" asked Hailey still staring at her former babysitter in disbelief.

"Of course I know Dumbledore," replied Mrs Figg, as if it should've been obvious. "Who doesn't know Dumbledore? But come _on_ —I'll be no help if they come back. I've never so much as Transfigured a teabag—" she crouched down, grabbed one of Dudley's massive arms, and tugged on him, "Get _up_ you useless lump, get _up_!"

Either Dudley couldn't or wouldn't move, because he was still trembling on the ground.

"I'll do it," Hailey told Mrs Figg and grabbed Dudley's arm, pulling on it, but he was still heavy, considering his weight and his dead-weight by refusing to move. She pulled again, managing to pull Dudley to his feet. Dudley seemed like he was going faint, because his eyes were rolling around and sweat was beginning to appear on his face. When Hailey released him, he swayed like a drunkard, so she pulled one of Dudley's arms around her shoulders and sagged under the weight.

"Hurry up!" ordered Mrs Figg sounding hysterical.

Hailey dragged her cousin towards the road, nearly collapsing as she did so. Mrs Figg was trotting in front of them, looking anxious as she looked around every corner.

When they entered Wisteria Walk, Mrs Figg said, "Keep your wand out."

Hailey started, "But the Statute of Secrecy—"

"Never mind the Statute of Secret now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for having a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage of Sorcery…" Mrs Figg stated. "This was _exactly_ what Dumbledore was afraid of—what's that at the end of the street?"

Hailey looked down the sidewalk to see a figure of a person standing on the street corner. For a moment she was worried that Voldemort had found her. She tightened her hold on her wand.

"Oh, it's just Mr Prentice," responded Mrs Figg. Hailey tried to hide the wand, but Mrs Figg noticed, "Don't put your wand away! Haven't I told you that I'm no use?"

It wasn't easy holding a wand and carrying Dudley at the same time. Hailey elbowed him to get him to move on his own, but he seemed to be devoid of movement. It was either that or Dudley was just being that lazy, Hailey couldn't tell.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're a Squib? All those times I was at your house. Why didn't you tell me about wizardry?" Hailey asked wondering about that.

"Dumbledore's orders," replied Mrs Figg. "I was to keep an eye on you, but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they'd thought you enjoyed it. It wasn't easy, you know…"

Hailey figured that it would've been hard making her grow up miserable enough so the Dursleys didn't suspect she was having fun.

Mrs Figg was wringing her hands again and continued, "But, oh my word, when Dumbledore hears about this—how could Mundungus have left, he was supposed to be on duty until midnight— _where is he_? How am I going to tell Dumbledore what's happened, I can't Apparate—"

"I've got an owl that you can borrow," Hailey said and groaned under Dudley's weight. She wondered if her spine might snap under the weight or if it was going to end up deformed.

"Hailey, you don't understand!" Mrs Figg started, "Dumbledore will need to act as quickly as possible, the Ministry have their own ways of detecting underage magic, they'll know already, you mark my words—"

"I had to get rid of dementors so I had to use magic—they surely have to know about dementors hanging around Wisteria Walk," Hailey said.

Mrs Figg started, "Oh, my dear, I wish it were so, but I'm afraid—"

 _CRACK_

A strong smell of mingled drink and stale tobacco suddenly filled the air. A squat, unshaven man wearing a tattered overcoat stood before them. He had short bandy legs, long straggly red hair, and he had bloodshot baggy eyes. He was holding a silvery bundle that was an Invisibility Cloak.

" _Mundungus Fletcher, I am going to kill you!_ " shrieked Mrs Figg at the man.

Mundungus looked at Mrs Figg, "'S' up, Figgy?" He looked at Mrs Figg, then Hailey, and at Dudley. He must've put the pieces together, "What 'appened to staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover!" shouted Mrs Figg, "Dementors, you useless, skiving sneak thief!"

Hailey would've found the scene of her elderly babysitter, wearing a hairnet and tartan carpet slippers yelling a grown man, funny, if she didn't have her cousin weighing her down.

"Demenotors?" repeated Fletcher stunned, "Dementors…here?"

"Yes, here, you worthless pile of bat droppings, here!" shrieked Mrs Figg, "Dementors attacking the girl on your watch!"

"Blimey," replied Fletcher in a weak tone. He looked from Mrs Figg to Hailey and back to Mrs Figg. "Blimey, I…"

"And you off buying stolen cauldrons! Didn't I tell you not to go? _Didn't I_?" Mrs Figg continued shrieking at him.

"I—well, I—" Fletcher started looking uncomfortable. "It…it was a very good business opportunity, see…"

Before Hailey can ask Fletcher if he could help her with her cousin or to finish up the conversation, Mrs Figg started hitting him round the face and neck with her string bag. The clanking noise coming from it sounded like it was full of cat food tins. Hailey cringed at the sight.

"Outch—gerroff—gerroff, you mad old bat! Someone's gotta tell Dumbledore," Fletcher said in between hits of the cat food.

"Yes! They! Have!" yelled Mrs Figg, still swinging her bag at whatever she can reach of Fletcher. She spoke in between whacks, "And it had better be you and you can tell him why you weren't there to help!"

"Keep your 'airnet on!" replied Fletcher in a gruff tone. He had his arms over his head, cowering in fear of the elderly woman's wrath. "I'm going, I'm going!" There was another loud _crack_ and he was gone.

"I hope Dumbledore _murders_ him!" said Mrs Figg furiously. "Now come _on_ , Hailey, what are you waiting for?"

Hailey wanted to tell the woman that she was waiting for Mrs Figg to finish hitting Fletcher with the bag and wanted to point out that she can barely walk under Dudley's bulk, but she heaved Dudley and continued onward.

"I'll take you the door," said Mrs Figg as they finally turned onto Privet Drive. "Just in case there are more of them around…" After a few minutes of silence, Mrs Figg said, "Oh my word, what a catastrophe…and you had to fight them off yourself…and Dumbledore said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs…Well, it's no good crying over spilled potion, I suppose…but the cat's among the pixies now…"

Hailey was panting as she lugged Dudley along. "So…why is…Dumbledore…having me…followed?"

"Did you expect him to let you wander around on your own after what happened in June? Good Lord, girl, they told that you're a Ravenclaw…" They finally reached number four. "Right…get inside and stay there. I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."

"What are you going to do?" asked Hailey before Mrs Figg can run off.

"I'm going straight home," replied Mrs Figg, staring around the darkened street and shuddering, as if expecting more dementors to pop out. "I'll need to wait for more instructions. Just stay in the house. Good night."

Hailey still had a bunch of questions to ask, but Mrs Figg hurried off before Hailey can even ask.

Hailey looked at the house to see that the hall light was on and stuck her wand in the waistband of her jeans. She lugged Dudley up the driveway and rang the doorbell. Through the rippling glass in the front door, she watched her aunt's outline grow large and distorted as she approached the door.

"Diddy! About time too, I was getting quite—" Aunt Petunia started, "—quite—" She opened the door and shrieked, " _Diddy, what's the matter?_ "

Hailey looked sideways at Dudley and saw that he turned a nasty pale green colour. She ducked out from under Dudley's arm and ran down the porch, right as he threw up all over the doormat.

"Diddy! Diddy, what's the matter with you?" Aunt Petunia demanded. "Vernon?" She turned to the hallway and yelled, "Vernon!"

Vernon ran out of the living, nearly knocking down a picture in his haste to see what the matter was. He hurried to help his wife move their weak-kneed son over the threshold, trying to avoid having to stepping into the pool of sick, which Hailey suspected that she was going to be forced to clean.

"He's ill, Vernon!" Petunia shouted, as if Vernon didn't know, despite how obvious it was.

"What is it, son? What's happened? Did Mrs Polkiss give you something foreign for tea?" Vernon demanded as he went to slam the door shut.

Hailey maneuvered in the house before the door fully closed on her. She tried to avoid the puddle of sick. She suspected 'foreign' meant alcohol. She wouldn't put it past Dudley to try some at one point with his gang, considering that he smoked. She slowly and quietly made her way to the stairs, wanting to write to her friends about what happened and how Dumbledore was having her followed.

Hailey got on foot on the step when she heard Dudley say, " _Her!_ "

Hailey braced herself.

" _Girl!_ " Vernon thundered, " _Come here!_ "

Hailey felt dread and anger. She turned and followed the Dursleys into the kitchen. Petunia was setting her green and clammy son into a chair, and handed him a rubbish bin, just in case he was going to be sick again.

Vernon was standing in front of the draining board, glaring at Hailey through tiny, narrowed eyes. In a menacing growl, he demanded, "What have you done to my son?"

"Nothing," replied Hailey truthfully, even though she knew her uncle wouldn't believe her anyway. "I didn't do anything to him."

"What did she do to you, Diddy?" asked Petunia in a quavering voice. She was sponging sweat from Dudley's face. "Was it—was it you-know-what, darling? Did she use—her _thing_?"

Dudley was still shaking, but he slowly nodded.

"I didn't use magic!" Hailey sharply said as Petunia wailed and Vernon held up his fists. "I didn't do anything to him. It wasn't me, it was—"

A screech owl, with a large parchment envelope in its beak, flew in through the kitchen window. It almost hit Vernon's head as it flew across the kitchen. It dropped the envelope at Hailey's feet before it turned around and flew out of the kitchen.

"Owls!" bellowed Vernon as Hailey heard him slam the kitchen window shut.

Heart pounding, Hailey opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine in this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle._

 _The severity of the breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts_ _School of Witch and Wizardry. Ministry Representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand._

 _As you have already an official warning for a previous offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secret, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 A.M. on August 12_ _th_ _._

 _Hoping you are well,_

 _Yours sincerely_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk  
_ **IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE  
** _Ministry of Magic_

Hailey read through it twice. One half of her was in disbelief at how she was expelled and the letter was saying that they hoped she was well, as if they didn't just expel her. The other half was in disbelief and shocked at actually being expelled.

The shock wore off quickly and she started feeling numb. She was never going back and she was never going to see her friends again. She was never going to find out if she was in a relationship with Michael because she wanted to talk about it in person instead over owl.

She looked at the Dursleys. Vernon was purple-faced and shouting silently, his fists still raised. Petunia had her arms around Dudley, who was retching again in the rubbish-bin.

She had to run. She could always go to Mandy's place, but considering that Voldemort would be after her, would Mandy's parents allow her in? There was always Michael's flat, but would his parents let her in, considering how she and Michael had kissed a few times in June, especially how she wasn't sure if they were dating or not? Maybe Michael's mother would allow her, but that would be kind of—

 _CRACK_

Petunia screamed and Vernon yelled and ducked. A dazed and ruffled-looking barn owl was sitting on the kitchen window sill because it just flew into the closed window.

"Owls!" yelled Vernon in an anguished tone as if the owls were causing the death of him.

Hailey ran across the kitchen and threw the window open. The owl stuck out its leg, which had a small roll of parchment tied to it. She pulled off the parchment and the owl shook its feathers, as if getting its bearings back. It took off and the teen unrolled parchment, to see what looked to be a hastily written letter because the letters looked blotchy.

 _Hailey—_

 _Dumbledore's just arrived at the Ministry, and he's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE! DO NOT DO ANY MORE MAGIC! DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND!_

 _Arthur Weasley_

Hailey wondered what it meant if Dumbledore was trying to sort everything out. How much power did he have to try and override the Ministry of Magic? Was there a chance that she would be allowed to go back to Hogwarts? She felt hopeful and then panicked, because how was she going refuse to give up her wand without doing any magic?

"Who are all these ruddy owls from?" Vernon growled. The vein in his temple looked like it was throbbing or going to burst.

"The first one was my expulsion letter from the Ministry of Magic," replied Hailey, trying to sound calm.

" _Ministry of Magic?_ " bellowed Vernon. "People like you in _government?_ Oh, this explains everything, no wonder the country's going to the dogs…"

"The Ministry of Magic is a separate government," replied Hailey.

Vernon ignored her, which wasn't anything new. He glared at her and spat, "And why have you been expelled?"

Rather flatly, Hailey responded, "Because I had to do magic."

"Aha!" shouted Vernon, slamming his fist on top of the fridge, which sprang open, spilling several of Dudley's low-fat snacks. "So you admit it! _What did you do to Dudley?_ "

"I didn't do anything!" replied Hailey, "That wasn't me—"

"Was," Dudley muttered. Vernon and Petunia made hand gestures at Hailey as if telling her to be quiet, while they went to check on Dudley.

"Go on, son," said Vernon. "What did she do?"

"Tell us, darling," whispered Petunia.

"Pointed her wand at me," Dudley mumbled.

Hailey started, "Yeah, I did, but I didn't use—"

"Shut up!" bellowed Vernon and Petunia at the same time at her.

"Go on, son," Vernon said, his mustache blowing about furiously.

"All dark," Dudley said in a hoarse voice and shuddering. "Everything dark. And I h-heard…things. Inside m-my heard…"

Vernon and Petunia looked at each other, horrified. Hearing voices were probably on the bottom ten things they hate. Magic was at the top of the list, followed closely by neighbours who cheated more than they did on the housepipe ban. They must've thought that Dudley was losing his mind. She was oddly reminded of that one story Michael told her and her friends in their second year, where his neighbour had got taken away because she thought her stuffed animals were insulting her.

"What sort of things did you hear, popkin?" asked Petunia, very white and looking on the verge of crying.

Dudley shuddered and shook his head.

Despite feeling dread and numb, Hailey couldn't help but wonder what spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley had been forced to hear because dementors caused people to relive their worst moments of their life.

"How come you fell over, son?" asked Vernon using an unnatural voice, like one would use at the bedside of a very ill person.

"T-tripped," Dudley stuttered out. "And then—" he gestured at his massive chest, which Hailey understand. He was probably remembering the clammy cold that filled the lungs as hope and happiness was sucked out of him. "Horrible," he croaked, "Cold." He shuddered again, "Really cold."

"Okay," replied Vernon, with a forced calm voice.

Petunia laid her hand on Dudley's forehead to check his temperature and looked anxious. "What happened then, Dudders?"

Dudley stuttered out, "Felt…felt…felt…as if…as if…"

"As if you'd never be happy again," Hailey offered in a monotone.

"Yes," Dudley whispered.

" _So_ ," stated Vernon, resuming his loud voice as he straightened up. "So, you put some crackpot spell on my son so he'd hear voices and believe he was—was doomed to misery or something, did you?"

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" demanded Hailey, her temper and voice rising, " _I didn't do a damn thing!_ It was a couple of dementors!"

"A couple of—what's this codswallop?" Vernon demanded. Petunia had covered her heard with her hand probably at hearing the word 'damn' being used by her niece, as if Hailey had something even more vulgar.

"De-men-tors," enunciated Hailey as clearly as possible. "There were two of them."

Vernon asked, "And what the ruddy hell are dementors?"

"They guard the wizard prison, Azakban." Petunia said, and covered her mouth with her hand again, as if she didn't mean to say that.

A silence had followed as they all goggled at Petunia.

"How—how do you know that?" Hailey asked, her mind reeling. First Mrs Figg and now Petunia, who refused to have anything to do with the wizarding world?

Petunia looked disgusted with herself, and looked apologetically at Vernon, before lowering her hand from her mouth. She said, "I heard—that awful boy—telling _her_ about them—years ago."

"My mum and dad have names you know," Hailey said loudly, but her aunt ignored her.

Hailey blinked, becoming stunned, because she never heard Petunia mention her sister, except once years ago, when Petunia ranted about Hailey's mother being a freak. She was surprised that her aunt had remembered that piece of information about the magical world for so long, because Petunia seemed to spend most of her energy into pretending that it didn't even exist.

Vernon had opened and closed his mouth twice, before croaking out, "So—so—they—er—they—er—they actually exist, do they—er—dementy-whasits?"

Petunia nodded.

Vernon looked at his family, as if expecting them to shout 'April Fool!' at him, but nobody did. He opened his mouth again, but a third owl shot right through the window. It landed on the kitchen table, making the Dursleys jump. Hailey took an official-looking envelope from the owl's beak. She ripped it open as she heard her uncle mutter, "Enough—effing owls…"

The window was slammed shut as Hailey read the letter.

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised its decision to destroy your wand forthwith. You may retain your wand until your disciplinary hearing on 12_ _th_ _August, at which time an official decision will be taken._

 _Following discussion with the Headmaster of Hogwarts_ _School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquires._

 _With best wishes,_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk  
_ **IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE  
** _Ministry of Magic_

Hailey reread the letter three times as quickly as possible. She felt less miserable knowing that she wasn't expelled, just suspended, though she still felt fearful, because everything hung on the hearing on August twelfth.

"Well," asked Vernon, bringing Hailey out of her thoughts. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything?" Hopefully, he added, "Do your lot have the death penalty?"

"I have to go to a hearing," responded Hailey.

"And they'll sentence you there?" asked Vernon.

Hailey shrugged, "Probably."

"I won't give up hope then," said Vernon nastily.

"Well, if this is all," said Hailey going to the door. She wanted to be alone so she can think and perhaps send a letter to her friends or Sirius.

"No, it ruddy well is not all!" bellowed Vernon. "Sit down!"

Hailey sat down and exasperated, asked, "What do you want _now_?"

"Dudley!" roared Vernon. "I want to know exactly what happened to my son!"

"Fine," yelled Hailey. "Dudley and I were in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. Dudley thought he'd be smart with me, I pulled out my wand, but I _didn't_ use it. Then two dementors turned up—"

"But what _are_ dementoids?" interrupted Vernon furiously. "What do they _do_?"

Hailey quickly explained, "They just suck the happiness out of you and if they even get the chance, they kiss you—"

"Kiss you?" repeated Vernon his eyes wide. " _Kiss_ you?"

"They suck your soul out of your mouth, so they call it the Dementor's Kiss," Hailey explained.

Petunia let out a soft scream at that, "His _soul_? They didn't take—he's still got his—?" She shook Dudley, as if she can hear his soul rattling inside him.

"You'd know if they got his soul," replied Hailey.

To Dudley, Vernon said loudly, "Fought 'em off, did you, son? Gave 'em the old one-two, did you?"

Hailey wanted to face-palm at that. "You can't give a dementor _the old one-two_."

"Why's he all right, then?" blustered Vernon, "Why isn't he all empty, then?"

Hailey really face-palmed this time, "Because I used the Patrnous—"

A fourth owl shot out of the kitchen fireplace. Hailey was instantly there, pulling a roll of parchment from the owl's leg.

Vernon ranted, "For God's sake! I will not have owls here, I will not tolerate this, I tell you!"

"I can't stop them!" Hailey shouted and opened the letter.

 _Arthur's just told us what's happened.  
_ _Don't leave the house again, whatever you do._

For the first time, Hailey felt disappointed to see Sirius's handwriting and felt agitated all over because it seemed like Mr Weasley and Sirius were acting as if she had misbehaved and were waiting to see how much damage was done before they gave her a stern talking to.

It seemed like Vernon was still ranting, "—a peck, I mean, a pack of owls shooting in and out of my house and I won't have it, girl, I won't—"

"I can't stop the owls from coming," Hailey snapped, crushing the parchment in her fist.

"I want the truth about what happened tonight!" demanded Venon. "If it was demenders who hurt Dudley, how come you've been expelled? You did you-know-what, you've admitted it!"

For a second, Hailey thought that Vernon was showing concern on her being expelled, but she knew that Vernon would rather die than show her concern over her well-being. She took a deep breath feeling a headache coming on. She wanted to get out of the kitchen and away from them. "I did the Patronus Charm to get rid of the dementors. It's the only thing that works against them."

"But what were dementoids _doing_ in Little Whinging?" asked Vernon outraged.

"If I knew I would tell you!" Hailey responded. Her uncle had asked a good question though, what were dementors doing in Little Whinging?

"It's you," accused Vernon. "It's got something to do with you, girl, I know it. Why else would they turn up here? Why else would they be down that alleyway? You've got to be the only—the only—the only _you-know-what_ for miles."

Hailey said, "I don't know why they were here…" Could it be a coincidence that they arrived in the alleyway where Hailey was? Had they been sent? Had the Ministry of Magic lost control of the dementors? Had they deserted Azkaban and joined Voldemort, as Dumbledore predicted?

"These demembers guard some weirdos' prison?" questioned Vernon.

"Yes," stated Hailey.

"Oho!" Vernon shouted triumphantly. "They were coming to arrest you! That's it, isn't it, girl? You're on the run from the law!"

"I'm not on the run from the law! Where did you get that idea from?" asked Hailey shaking her head at that.

Vernon started, "Then why—?"

"I don't know!" shouted Hailey and then she muttered, "He must have sent them then."

"What's that? Who must have sent them?" asked Vernon.

"Lord Voldemort," answered Hailey.

"Lord—hang on," said Vernon, screwing up his face, thinking. "I've heard that name…that was the one who…"

"Murdered my parents, yes," Hailey finished.

"But he's gone," replied Vernon impatiently. "That giant bloke said so. He's gone."

"He's back," responded Hailey. She realized how strange it was to be talking to the Dursley about the return of Lord Voldemort. The Dursleys were asking for details about the magical world because their son got attacked by dementors, Mrs Figg knew Albus Dumbledore, dementors were soaring around Little Whinging, and Hailey might never go back to Hogwarts. It was like a hole ripped between the wizarding world and the Muggle world and smashed together. It was enough to make Hailey's head throb.

"Back?" whispered Petunia.

Hailey saw that her aunt was looking at her with wide eyes. Petunia didn't have her eyes narrowed at her in dislike or anger, but they seemed fearful. Hailey wasn't the only one to know what Voldemort being back might mean. Hailey looked at her aunt, "He came back a month ago. I saw his return."

Petunia grabbed onto Dudley's shoulders.

"Hang on," said Vernon, looking at his wife to Hailey and back to his again. "Hang on, this Lord Voldything's back, you say?"

"He is," replied Hailey.

"And now he's sending dismembers after you?" questioned Vernon.

"It seems like it," responded Hailey.

"I see," Vernon said, looking at Petunia and Hailey. "Well, that settles it." He looked at Hailey, " _You can get out of this house, girl!_ "

"Excuse me?" asked Hailey startled.

"You heard me," Vernon bellowed, "Out!" Petunia and Dudley jumped. "Out! Out! I should've done it years ago! Owls treating the place like a rest home, puddings exploding, Dudley's tail, Marge bobbing around on the ceiling, and that flying Ford Anglia—out! Out! You've had it! You're history! You're not staying here if some loony's after you, you're not endangering my wife and son, you're not bringing trouble down on us, if you're going the same way as your useless parents, I've had it! Out!"

Hailey seemed frozen to the chair. Sirius and Mr Weasley's letters were repeating themselves in her head.

 _Don't leave the house again, whatever you do._  
 _DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLE'S HOUSE._

"You heard me!" snarled Vernon, bending forward so his face was close to Hailey's. "Get going! Get out and never darken our doorstep again! Why we ever kept you in the first place, I don't know. Marge was right, it should have been the orphanage, we were too damn soft for our own good, thought we could squash it out of you, thought we could turn you normal, but you've been rotten from the beginning, and I've had enough—"

A fifth owl with a red envelope flew down the chimney so fast it hit the floor, before flying into the air again with a loud indignant screech.

"Owls!" bellowed Vernon, apparently forgetting that he was in the middle of kicking his niece out of the house.

Hailey went to the owl with the red envelope, but the owl flew over Hailey's head to Petunia, who screamed, ducked, and covered her face with her arms, as if that will protect her. The owl dropped the red envelope on Petunia's head, before flying up the chimney again. She ran for the envelope, but Petunia beat her to it. "You can open it if you want, but everyone will hear what it says. That's a Howler. If you don't open it, it'll be worse."

"Let go of it, Petunia!" roared Vernon. "Don't touch it, it could be dangerous!"

"It's addressed to me," said Petunia, sounding terrified. "It's addressed to _me_ , Vernon, look! _Mrs Petunia Dursley, The Kitchen, Number Four, Privet Drive—_ "

The Howler began smoking, making Petunia catch her breath.

"You've got to open it!" urged Hailey. "Just get it over with! It's going to yell—"

"No—" Petunia aid, trembling as she looked around the kitchen, as if she was looking for an escape route. The Howler burst into flames, making Petunia scream and she dropped it.

 _"Remember my last, Petunia!"_

It was an awful voice, which seemed to fill the kitchen. Petunia looked as if she was going to faint and she fell back in a chair beside Dudley. She had her face in her hands.

The Howler smoldered into ash.

"What—I don't—Petunia?" asked Vernon sounding hoarse.

Dudley was staring at his mother, his mouth hanging open. Hailey was looking at her aunt, bewildered.

"Petunia, dear?" asked Vernon timidly, "P-Petunia?"

Petunia looked up at her husband, trembling. In a weak voice, she said, "The girl—the girl will have to stay, Vernon."

"W-what?" stuttered Vernon.

Petunia didn't look at Hailey as she got to her feet, "She stays."

"She…but Petunia…" spluttered Vernon.

"If we throw her out, the neighbours will talk," Petunia said in a brisk, snappish manner. She still looked very pale though. "They'll want to know where she's gone. We'll have to keep her."

 _As if I'm an animal,_ Hailey thought.

Vernon seemed to sag, "But Petunia, dear—"

"You're to stay in your room," Petunia ordered Hailey, ignoring Vernon. "You're not to leave the house. Now get to bed."

"Why sent you that Howler?" asked Hailey.

"Don't ask questions," snapped Petunia.

Hailey went to go do as she was told, figuring that she wasn't going to get any answers from her aunt.


	3. The Advance Guard

Four days had passed since Hailey had sent her friends and Sirius letters, saying: _I've just been attacked by dementors and I might get expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here._ She had hoped that Hedwig would've returned the morning after she sent out the letters, but the owl hadn't returned. She spent the four days confined to her room, leaving to go use the bathroom. Her relatives avoided her room, Petunia being brave enough to shove food through the cat flap that Vernon had installed three years ago.

For those four days, Hailey felt as if she was in some sort of stupor. She paced her room, wondering who sent that Howler and why, why was no one giving her any answers, and why was everyone treating her like she had done something naughty?

She was lying on her bed, wondering what would happen to her if she even got expelled. Where would she go and what would she do? Could she go live with Sirius like he asked of her last year? She couldn't live with the Dursleys full-time. Would she be sent to Azkaban because of the serious breach of the International Statute of Secrecy?

Her uncle entered the room, dressed in his best suit. Hailey turned her head to look at him.

"We're going out," Vernon said gruffly and Hailey sat up. "And by 'we' I mean, me, your aunt, and your cousin."

Hailey lied back down, shrugging, "Okay."

"You are not to leave your bedroom while we're away," Vernon said.

"All right," Hailey said nearly sighing.

"You're not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions," stated Vernon.

"Okay," replied Hailey.

"You are not to steal food from the fridge," continued Vernon, like he didn't hear Hailey, which wasn't new.

"That's fine with me," said Hailey.

"I am going to lock your door," finished Vernon.

"Go ahead and do that," said Hailey.

Vernon looked at Hailey, suspicious of the lack of arguments, and then stomped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Hailey heard the key turning in the lock and Uncle Vernon walking away and down the stairs. A few minutes later, she heard the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the sound of the car sweeping out of the driveway.

Hailey didn't care about the Dursleys leaving, since it made no difference to her whether they were in the house or not. She couldn't muster the energy to get up and turn on her bedroom light as the time passed.

She listened to the night sounds through the window that she kept open at all times, waiting for the moment when Hedwig returned. She listened to the house creak and the pipes gurgling. She listened to a crash that sounded like a plate breaking come from the kitchen.

She sat up and thought, _burglars!_ She knew that the Dursleys couldn't have returned because she didn't hear the car and the burglars started talking loudly. They couldn't have been burglars because who talked that loud while stealing something from a house, even though she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Well there was someone in the house and Hailey grabbed her wand from the bedside table. She stood up and faced the bedroom door, listening intently.

 _CLICK!_

She jumped back as the door opened.

No one stood in the dark landing and she listened for further sounds, but there wasn't any. She hesitated and moved swiftly and silently out of her room to the head of stairs. She looked over the banister to see shadowy figures standing in the hall below. They were silhouetted against the streetlight glowing through the glass door. She counted the figures, which was eight or nine and they were all looking up at her.

"Lower your wand, girl, before you take someone's eye out," said a low, growling voice.

Hailey's heart was beating rapidly, but she knew that voice, yet she didn't lower her wand. Uncertain, she asked, "Professor Moody?"

"I don't know so much about 'Professor,'" growled the voice, "never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here; we want to see you properly."

Hailey lowered her wand slightly but didn't loosen her grip on it and she didn't move. She had recently spent nine months in what she thought had been Mad-Eye Moody's company, only to find out that it wasn't Moody at all, but an imposter, who tried to kill her before being unmasked.

"It's all right, Hailey. We've come to take you away," a hoarse voice said.

Hailey felt less tense. She knew that voice came from Remus Lupin, who she hadn't seen or heard from in over a year. She was in disbelief, "P-Professor Lupin? Is that you?"

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" said an unfamiliar woman's voice. " _Lumos_."

A wand tip flared, illuminating the hall with magical light. Hailey blinked. The people that were crowded around the foot of the stairs, staring intently up at her. Some were even tilting their heads to get a better look.

Remus Lupin was the nearest to Hailey. He was still young, but he looked tired and rather ill; he had more grey hair than when Hailey had said good-bye to him, and his robes were more patched and shabbier than ever. He was smiling broadly at Hailey, who tried to smile back, despite the shock she had received.

"Hmm," said the witch thoughtfully, "I thought she would've had black hair and green eyes." She held the wand high. She looked to be the youngest there. She had a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that were a violent shade of violet, which reminded Hailey of the Knight Bus. She greeted, "Wotcher, Hailey!"

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," a said a bald black wizard that was standing at the farthest back of the group. He had a deep, slow voice and wore a single good hoop in his ear. "She looks exactly like Lily."

"Except the eyes," said a wheezy-voiced, silver-haired wizard at the back. "She has James's eyes."

Mad-Eye Moody had long grizzled grey hair and a large chunk was missing from his nose. He was squinting suspiciously at Hailey through his mismatched eyes. One eye was small, dark and beady, while the other large round and electric blue—the magical eye that could see through walls, doors, and the back of Moody's own head. He growled, "Are you quite sure it's her, Lupin? It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating her. We ought to ask her something only the real Potter would know. Unless anyone brought any Veritaserum?"

"Hailey, what form does your Patronus take?" Lupin asked.

"A doe," replied Hailey nervously.

"That's her, Mad-Eye," responded Lupin.

Hailey was feeling self-conscious because she was wearing a heavily stained shirt from a second-hand store and some very baggy trousers that had belonged to Dudley. Her hair was messier than usual because she hadn't brushed it in a week. She put her wand in the back pocket of her jeans as she went down.

"Don't put your wand there, girl!" roared Moody. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"

"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" the woman asked sounding interested.

"Yeah, who do you know had that happen to them?" Hailey asked curious.

"Never you two mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" growled Mad-Eye. "Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it any more." He limped off towards the kitchen, his wooden leg making a clunking sound with every other step. The woman rolled her eyes till she was looking at the ceiling. "I saw that!"

Lupin held out his hand and shook Hailey's. "How are you?" he was looking closely at her.

"F-fine…" Hailey stuttered out, hardly believing that any of this was real. She had been there for four weeks with nothing, not even the tiniest hint of a plan to get her out of Privet Drive and then a whole bunch of wizards was standing in the house as if this had been agreed on a long time ago. She looked at the people that were surrounding Lupin, who were staring at her.

"I'm—you're really lucky the Dursleys are out…" Hailey mumbled to him.

"Lucky?" repeated the woman. "Ha! It was me who lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now… Or they think they are."

Hailey momentarily pictured her uncle's face turning purple in rage when he realized there was no All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition and then pictured his reaction when he came back. It wasn't pretty. She was sure she'll get blamed for it. She asked, "We're leaving soon, right? Are we?"

"Almost at once," replied Lupin, "we're just waiting for the all-clear."

"So where are going after this?" Hailey asked, "the Burrow?" She was hopeful.

"Not the Burrow, no," answered Lupin. He motioned Hailey to the kitchen, with the little group of wizards following them, eyeing Hailey in a curious manner. "Too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere undetectable. It's taken a while…"

Mad-Eye Moody was sitting at the kitchen table, taking a drink for a hip flask. His magical eye was spinning in all directions, looking at the Dursleys' many labour-saving appliances.

"This is Alastor Moody, Hailey," Lupin said, pointing at Moody.

"I know who he is," replied Hailey, feeling uncomfortable, because she was being introduced to somebody she thought she'd known for a year.

Lupin pointed to the violet-haired woman, "And this is Nymphadora—"

" _Don't_ call me Nymphadora, Remus," said the witch shuddering. "It's Tonks."

"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," finished Lupin.

"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Nymphadora," muttered Tonks.

Hailey had to admit, she would prefer to go by her surname, too, if she was named Nymphadora.

"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Lupin said, motioning to the tall black wizard, who bowed, which kind of made Hailey uncomfortable. "Elphias Doge—" the wheezy-voiced wizard nodded, "Dedalus Diggle—"

"We've met before," replied Diggle, dropping his violet-coloured top hat.

"I remember," Hailey muttered, remembering him from the pub when she had just turned eleven and how he once bowed to her in a shop.

"—Emmeline Vance," Lupin continued. A woman in an emerald green shawl lowered her head a little in greeting. "Sturgis Podmore—" a wizard with thick looking straw-coloured hair winked her, "And Hestia Jones," a black-haired witch waved at Hailey from next to the toaster.

Hailey nodded at each of the people she was introduced too and wished that they would look at something else rather than look at her. It felt as if she thrown right into the spotlight and then she wondered why there were so many wizards in the house.

She looked at Lupin, ready to ask him, but he said, "A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you." It seemed like he read her mind and it looked like he was fighting the urge to smile.

"Yeah, well, the more the better," stated Moody darkly. "We're your guard, Potter."

"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," Lupin told her, looking out of the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."

Tonks was looking around the kitchen, looking highly interested. "Very _clean_ , aren't they, these Muggles? My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"

"Er—I suppose," replied Hailey. She looked at Lupin, "Look, what is going on because I haven't gotten any answers from anyone. What's Vol—?"

Several of the witches and wizard made hissing noises; Diggle dropped his hat, and Moody growled, "Shut up."

Hailey wasn't sure who he was talking to; her or the other witches and wizards. "What?"

"We're not discussing anything here because it's far too risky," replied Moody, turning his normal eye on Hailey. His magical eye was busy focusing on the ceiling, " _Damn it_ ," he sounded angry as he put his hand up to his magical eye. "It's keep getting stuck—ever since that scum wore it—" With a nasty squelching that nearly made Hailey gag, he pulled his eye out, which made Hailey feel even more queasy.

"Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" asked Tonks in a conversational manner.

"Get me a glass of water, would you, Hailey?" requested Moody.

Hailey went to the dishwasher and took out a clean glass and filled it with water at the sink. She was highly uncomfortable as the witches and wizards watched her and it was beginning to get annoying. Hailey handed Moody the glass, who said, "Cheers," as he dropped the magical eyeball into the water and prod it up and down. The eye whizzed around, looking at all of them in turn. "I want three hundred and sixty degrees visibility on the return journey."

"So, how exactly are we getting to…wherever we're going?" asked Hailey.

"Brooms," replied Lupin, "It's the only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorised Portkey."

"Remus says you're a good flier," said Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"She's excellent," stated Lupin, looking at his watch. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Hailey. We want to be ready to go when the signal comes."

"I'll come and help you," replied Tonks in a bright voice.

She followed Hailey into the hall and up the stairs. Tonks was looking around in curiosity and interest. "Funny place," she stated, " _too_ clean, d'you know what I mean? Bit unnatural." When they entered Hailey's room after Hailey turned the light on, Tonks said, "Oh, this is better."

Hailey's room was messier than the rest of the house. She was confined to it for four days and was in a foul mood, so she hadn't bothered cleaning up after herself. Most of the books she owned were strewn over the floor when she tried distracting herself with reading, Hedwig's cage needed to be cleaned because it was starting to smell, and her trunk was lying opening, spilling out Muggle clothing and wizard's robes.

Hailey went to pick up books and threw them hastily in her trunk. Tonks was staring at herself in the mirror in Hailey's wardrobe, which was open. Hailey put on the grey hoodie that Michael had given her in her third year when she had snuck out to Hogsmeade in the winter and forgot her cloak. She had 'forgotten' to give it back and Michael hadn't seemed to notice. The hoodie was still a bit big on her, but she loved it anyway. She grabbed the Michael and Hailey bracelet Eva had made.

"You know, I don't think violet's really my colour," Tonks said, tugging on a lock of her spiky hair. "D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"

Hailey looked up from the bracelet to look at the woman, "Er—"

"Yeah, it does," replied Tonks. She screwed up her eyes in a strained expression and her haired turned bubble-gum pink.

Hailey gasped, dropped the bracelet, and pointed at her, "You're a Metamorphmagus!" She had read about them. They can change their appearance at will and they born, not created.

Tonks nodded, "It got me top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all. It was great."

"You're an Auror?" asked Hailey impressed. Being a Dark-wizard-catcher was the career that she considered after leaving Hogwarts.

"Yeah," replied Tonks, looking proud. "Kingsley is as well; he's a bit higher up than me, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking. I'm dead clumsy; did you hear me break that plate when we arrived downstairs?"

Hailey nodded and muttered, "I wish I was a Metamorphmagus."

Tonks chuckled, "Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?" She looked at the lightning-shaped scar on Hailey's forehead.

"No, I wouldn't mind," Hailey mumbled, turning away because she didn't like anyone staring at it.

"Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid," replied Tonks. "Most wizards need to use a wand or potions to change their appearance. We've got to get going, Hailey, we're supposed to be packing." She looked around at the room.

"Oh, yeah," said Hailey grabbing a few more books to put away.

"Don't be stupid, it'll be much quicker if I— _pack_!" cried Tonks, weaving her wand in a long, sweeping movement over the floor.

Books, clothes, the telescope, and the scales all flew into the air and flew disastrously into the trunk.

Tonks walked over to the trunk and looked down at the haphazard mess in the trunk. "It's not very neat. My mum's got this knack of getting stuff to fit itself in neatly—she even gets the socks to fold themselves—but I've never mastered how she does it—it's a kind of flick—" she flicked her wand and one of Hailey's socks gave a feeble sort of wiggle but flopped back on top of the mess in the trunk.

Tonks slammed the trunk's lid shut, "Ah, well. At least it's all in." She noticed Hedwig's cage, "That could do with a bit of cleaning, too." She pointed her wand at the cage, " _Scourgify_." A few feathers and droppings vanished. "Well, that's a _bit_ better—I've never quite got the hang of these house-holdy sort of spells." Hailey went and grabbed her Firebolt broomstick. "Right—got everything? Cauldron? Broom?" Tonks looked at her and her eyes widened as she looked at the broomstick, "Wow! A _Firebolt_!"

The Firebolt was a gift from Sirius, and it was an international-standard broomstick.

"And I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty," said Tonks in a jealous tone. "Ah, well…wand still in your jeans? Both buttocks still on? Okay, let's go. _Locomotor trunk._ "

The trunk rose a few inches into the air and holding out her wand like a conductor's baton, Tonks made the trunk hover across the room and out of the door ahead of them, Tonks left the room, holding Hedwig's cage in her left hand.

When they got in the kitchen, Moody had put his eye back in. The eye was spinning so fast that Hailey felt sick looking at it. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Sturgis Podmore were examing the microwave and Hestia Jones was laughing at a potato peeler she came across while she was looking through the drawers. Lupin was sealing a letter that was addressed to the Dursleys.

"Excellent," said Lupin, looking as at the two. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready." He looked at Hailey, "Hailey, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry—"

"They're not going to," Hailey interrupted.

"—that you're safe—" Lupin continued.

"They'll be depressed," Hailey added.

"And you'll see them next summer," finished Lupin.

"Do I have to?" asked Hailey dully.

Lupin smiled at her.

"Come here, girl," said Moody gruffly. He was beckoning Hailey to him with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."

"Oh, okay," Hailey said.

Moody said, "Here you go…" He rapped Hailey hard on the head with the wand.

She felt cold trickles running down her body from where the wand had struck her.

"Nice one, Mad-Eye," said Tonks in an appreciative tone.

Hailey looked down to see that her body had taken on the colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind her.

"Come on," said Moody, unlocking the back door with his wand. They stepped onto Vernon's beautifully kept lawn. Moody's magical eye looked up at the sky, "Clear night. Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right," he looked at Hailey, "you. We're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed—"

"Will that actually happen?" asked Hailey.

"—the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Hailey, the rear guard is standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you," Moody continued, ignoring Hailey's question.

"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, she'll think we're not taking this seriously," responded Tonks, as she strapped Hailey's trunk and Hedwig's cage into a harness hanging from her broom.

"I'm just telling the girl the plan," replied Moody. "Our job's to deliver her safely to Headquarters and if we die in the attempt—"

"No one's going to die," interrupted Kingsley.

"Mount your brooms; that's the first signal!" order Lupin sharply. He was pointing at the sky.

Hailey looked to see bright red spark flaring among the stars. She recognised them as wand sparks. She swung her right leg over the Firebolt and held onto the handle tightly. She felt it vibrating slightly.

Green sparks exploded in the sky high above them.

"Second signal, let's go!" said Lupin loudly.

They kicked off hard from the ground. The cool night air rushed through her hair as the neat square gardens of Privet Drive fell away.

"Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" shouted Moody from behind her.

Tonks swerved and Hailey followed her, watching her trunk swinging wildly beneath her broom. "We need more height…Give it another quarter of a mile!"

Hailey's eyes watered in the chill as they soared upwards. She laughed because she hadn't felt this alive or happy in a month.

"Bearing south!" shouted Mad-Eye, "Town ahead!" They soared right to avoid passing over the lights below. "Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!"

"We're not going through clouds!" shouted Tonks angrily, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"

Hailey was glad to have someone point it out. Her hands were beginning to grow numb.

As they flew, they altered their course every now and then, following Mad-Eye's instructions. The rush of the icy wind was beginning to make Hailey's ears ache. She remembered being this cold on a broom once before, during the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff in her third year, which took place in a storm.

"Turning southwest!" yelled Moody. "We want to avoid the motorway!"

Kingsley swooped around her, his bald head and earring gleaming slightly in the moonlight…Emmeline Vance was on her right, her wand out looked left and right, then swooped over her, to be replaced by Sturgis Podmore…

"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouted.

" _Are you mad, Mad-Eye?_ " Tonks screamed from the front. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!"

"Time to start the descent!" came Lupin's voice. "Follow Tonks, Hailey!"

Hailey followed Tonks into a diver, heading for the largest collection of light she had seen. It was a sprawling crisscrossing mass, glittering in lines and grids, interspersed with patches of deepest black. They flew lower and lower until she could see individual headlights and streetlamps, chimneys and television aerials. She wanted to reach the ground, although she was sure someone had to unfreeze her from her broom.

"Here we go!" called Tonks and a few seconds later, she landed.

Hailey touched the ground and dismounted on a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of a small square. Tonks was unbuckling Hailey's trunk. Hailey looked around.

There were grimy house fronts that didn't seem inviting. Some houses had broken windows that glimmered dully in the light from the streetlamps, the paint was peeling from many of the doors and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps.

"Where are we?" asked Hailey.

"In a minute," replied Lupin in a quiet voice.

Moody was looking in his cloak and held up what looked like a silver cigarette lighter. He muttered, "Got it." He clicked it and the nearest streetlamp went out with a pop. He clicked the lighter again and the next lamp went out. He kept clicked until every lamp in the square was extinguished and the only remaining light came from curtained windows and moon overhead.

"Was that a Deluminator?" asked Hailey.

"Yes, borrowed it from Dumbledore," growled Moody, pocketing the Deluminator. Moody said, "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see? Now come on, quick." He took Hailey's arm and led her from the patch of grass she stood on and right across the road and onto the pavement. Lupin and Tonks followed, carrying Hailey's trunk between them. The rest of the guard had their wands out, flanking them.

She heard the sound of a stereo coming from an upper window in the nearest house and she smelt the rotting rubbish coming from the pile of bulging bin-bags just inside the broken gate.

"Here," Moody said, handing a piece of parchment towards Hailey's Disillusioned hand. He held his lit wand close to it, so Hailey can read the writing. "Read quickly and memorise it."

Hailey looked down at the piece of paper, where, in narrow, vaguely familiar handwriting, it said: _The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._


	4. Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

Hailey looked at Moody, _what's the Order of the Phoenix_? She wanted to ask, but Moody took the parchment out of her hands and pressed his wand to it, catching it on fire.

Hailey looked at the houses again. They were standing outside number eleven and looked to the left to see number ten and then to the right, which was number thirteen.

Hailey started, "Uh, where's—?"

"Think about what you've just memorized," said Lupin in a quiet voice.

Hailey thought, _The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place_ —a battered looking door emerged between numbers eleven and twelve. It had dirty walls and grimy looking windows. It looked as if an extra house just appeared out of nowhere, pushing numbers eleven and thirteen out of the way as it grew. Hailey gaped at the sight, as the stereo in number eleven continued as if the Muggles inside hadn't even felt or noticed a new house growing out of nowhere.

"Come on, hurry," growled Moody pushing Hailey forward.

She oddly remembered the imposter Moody pushing her in the lake for the second task during the Triwizard Tournament. She moved forward and up the stone steps. The door was black and its paint was shabby and scratched. There was a silver door knocker that was in the form of a twisted serpent. It didn't have a keyhole or letterbox.

Lupin pulled out his wand and tapped the door with it once. There was a series of metallic clicks and what sounded like a clatter of a chain moving. The door slowly creaked open.

"Get in quick, Hailey," Lupin whispered. "But don't go to far inside and don't touch anything."

She nodded and stepped over the threshold into near total darkness of the hall. She could smell damp, dust, and a sweet, rotting smell. The building had a feeling that it was derelict. She turned around to see the others following her. Lupin and Tonks were carrying the trunk and Hedwig's cage. Moody was standing on the top steps and releasing the balls of light from that the Deluminator had stolen from the streetlamps. The lights flew back to their bulbs and the square glowed orange momentarily, before Moody limped inside and closed the door, so that it was now fully dark.

"Here—" Moody limped over to Hailey and tapped her on the head with the wand again.

It felt like something hot trickled down Hailey's back, so she knew that the Disillusionment Charm had been removed.

Moody whispered, "Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here."

The others started whispering, which gave Hailey the feeling that they were in the house of a dying person. There was a hissing noise and old-fashioned lamps were lit up.

Hailey could see that they were standing in the hallway. She looked at the peeling wallpaper, the threadbare carpet, and the cobweb-covered chandelier that was above them. There were blackened old portraits that were hanging crookedly on the walls. She heard something scuttling behind the baseboards. She noticed a nearby table, which had a serpent-shaped candelabra on it. She looked at the chandelier which was also shaped like a serpent.

There were hurried footsteps and Ron's mother, Mrs Weasley emerged from a door that was at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome as she hurried to them. Hailey noticed that she seemed thinner and paler than the last time she saw her.

"Oh, Hailey, it's lovely to see you," Mrs Weasley whispered, pulling her in a rib-cracking hug. She held the teen at arm's length to examine her critically. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid…" She looked at the gang of wizards behind Hailey, and whispered urgently, "He's just arrived, the meeting's started…"

The wizards made noises of interests and excitement, before moving past Hailey and toward the door that Mrs Weasley had left. Hailey went to follow them, but Mrs Weasley held her back.

"No, Hailey, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting's over and then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall," Mrs Weasley explained in a whisper.

Hailey was briefly confused over and just nodded, dragging the word out, "Oh…Kay…"

"I'll show you where you're sleeping because I'm supposed to be at the meeting," Mrs Weasley said. She pressed her finger to her lips and tiptoes past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains. Hailey suspected that there was another door behind there. They walked around a large umbrella stand that looked eerily made from a troll's leg; they headed upstairs, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall.

When Hailey got a look, she saw that the heads looked like they had formerly belonged to house-elves, all having the same snout-like nose.

Hailey was feeling bewildered over the fact that this 'headquarters' seemed to take place in a place that seemed to belong to the Darkest of wizards. She had to ask, "Mrs Weasley, why—?"

"Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I've really got to dash," Mrs Weasley whispered, sounding distracted. They reached the second landing, "There, you're the second door on the left. Ron's room is that door on the right. I'll call you when it's over."

With that, she hurried off, leaving Hailey to get to the second landing.

She got to the second landing and went to the room that belonged to Ron. It wasn't a surprise to see that the doorknob was in the shape of a serpent's head, and opened it.

She saw a gloomy high-ceiling and twin beds. She heard a twitter and a shriek. She saw large bushy-brown hair because Hermione was now hugging her tightly. Hailey was nearly thrown to the ground at the force.

Hermione started talking rapidly, "Hailey! Ron, she's here, Hailey's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how _are_ you? Are you all right? How's Michael doing? Fred and George told us that you two are in a relationship now. Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless—but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us—the dementors! When we heard—and that Ministry hearing—it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't. There are provisions in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations—"

"Let her breathe, Hermione," Ron said, grinning. He got up and closed the door behind Hailey. Hailey noticed that he had grown several more inches. He was taller and gangly looking than ever, however, his long nose, bright red hair, and freckles were the same.

Hermione let go of Hailey, still beaming. There was a soft whooshing sound and something white left a dark wardrobe and landed on Hailey's shoulder.

Hailey asked, "Hedwig?"

The owl clicked her beak and nibbled Hailey's ear in an affectionate way as Hailey stroked her feathers.

"She's been in a right state," said Ron. "Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this—" He held up his right index finger to show a half-healed, deep looking cut.

"Oh, yeah," Hailey said feeling a little guilty. "Sorry about that, but I just wanted some answers, you know…"

"We wanted to give them to you, mate," Ron responded. "Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid, if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us—"

"Swear not to tell," finished Hailey. "Yeah, Hermione already mentioned it." She suddenly wished that she was alone, even though she had wanted to see them over the past month. She stroked Hedwig's feathers, not looking at the two Gryffindors.

"He seemed to think it was best," stated Hermione. "Dumbledore, I mean."

"Right," said Hailey, noticing that Hermione's hands had scratches from Hedwig's pecking attack. Hedwig had flown back to the wardrobe.

Ron said, "I think he thought you were safest with the Muggles—"

"Yeah?" interrupted Hailey. "Have either of you been attacked by dementors this summer?"

Hermione responded, "Well, no—but that's why he's had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you all the time—"

So everyone knew she was being followed, except her. "Didn't work that well, though, did it? Hailey replied. "Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?"

"He was so angry," replied Hermione. "Dumbledore. We saw him. When he found out Mundungus had left before his shift had ended. He was scary."

"Well, I'm glad he left, because if he didn't leave, I would've probably been left on Privet Drive all summer," Hailey replied.

"Aren't you…aren't you worried about the Ministry of Magic hearing?" asked Hermione in a quiet tone.

"No," lied Hailey and walked away to look around the room. It was dank and dark. There was a black stretch of canvas in an ornate picture frame. It seemed like it was there to relieve the bareness of the peeling wall. When she walked past it, she could've sworn she heard someone snigger.

"So, why's Dumbledore been so keen to keep me in the dark?" Hailey asked, turning to look at them. The two Gryffindors exchanged a look.

"It's not just you," Hermione responded. "We had to keep Mandy and Michael in the dark, too."

"We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you three what was going on," Ron said, "We did. But he's really busy now, we've only seen him twice since we came here and he didn't have much time, he just made us swear not to tell you, Mandy, and Michael important stuff when we wrote. He said that the owls might be intercepted—"

"He could've still kept me informed if he'd wanted to," Hailey said. "You're not telling me that he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls."

Hermione looked at Ron and then to Hailey, said, "I thought that too. But he didn't want you to know _anything_."

" _It's not like I saw Voldemort return, or fought him, or saw Cedric Diggory get killed, no! Let's just keep me in the dark! Yes, what a brilliant idea,_ " Hailey shouted, feeling frustrated with everything. " _Let's forget what I've been through! Why should anyone bother telling me what's been going on? Yes, let's not just tell me! That surely won't backfire on_ their _end!_ "

Hermione started, "We wanted to tell you—"

"I know that!" Hailey shouted. "What _is_ this place anyway?"

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," said Hermione.

Hailey asked, "And that is?"

"A secret society," Hermione answered. "Dumbledore's in charge because he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time."

"Who's in it?" asked Hailey.

Hermione started, "Quite a few people—"

"We've met about twenty of them," said Ron, "but we think there are more…"

Hailey looked at them. "What's happening with Voldemort? What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?"

"We're not allowed in the Order. They don't let us in on their meetings," said Hermione. "So we don't know the details—but we've got a general idea."

"Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see," replied Ron. "They're really useful."

Hailey briefly wondered if she heard correctly, "Extendable—?"

"Ears, yeah," continued Ron. "Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found them and went beserk. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum binning them. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realised what was going on. We know some of the Order are following after known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know—"

"Some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order—" Hermione added.

"And some of them are standing guard over something," said Ron. "They're always talking about guard duty."

"Gee, I wonder who it is. I'm sure that it has nothing to do with me," said Hailey sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah," replied Ron, looking like he finally figured it out.

Hailey snorted and walked around the room, not looking at the two Gryffindors. "You said you've been busy. What have you been doing since you're not allowed in meetings?"

"We've been decontaminating this house," Hermione said. "It's been empty for ages and stuff's been breeding in here. We've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms, and I think we're doing the drawing room t—" she screamed because with loud cracks Fred and George Apparated in the room. Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon twittered more wildly and flew off to join Hedwig on top of the wardrobe. "Stop _doing_ that!"

"Hello, Hailey," said George, beaming at her. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Hailey, let it all out," added Fred, grinning. "There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

Hailey decided to ignore that jab. She was surprised to learn that she was yelling that loudly. "I see that you two had passed your Apparation tests."

"With distinction," replied Fred. Hailey noticed that he was holding a very long, flesh-coloured string.

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," Ron pointed out.

"Time is Galleons, little brother," said Fred. "Anyway, Hailey, you're interfering with reception." Hailey raised her eyebrows at that. "Extendable Ears," Fred held up the string and Hailey followed it with her eyes to see it trail out on the landing. "We're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."

"You want to be careful," cautioned Ron, staring at the Ear, "If Mum sees one of them again…"

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having," stated Fred.

The door opened and a red-haired girl walked in. "Oh, hello, Hailey," said Ginny. "I thought I heard your voice."

Hailey seriously wondered if she had shouted that loud. She turned to Ron and Hermione. Ron nodded, seemingly knowing what Hailey thought.

"It's a no-go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturable Charm on the kitchen door," Ginny said to the Weasley twins.

George looked a little crestfallen, "How d'you know?"

"Tonks told me how to find out," said Ginny.

"You can throw things at the door, but if it doesn't make contact, the door has the charm on it," Hailey said, remembering she had read about the Charm.

"Yeah, that," Ginny said. "I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs, but they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."

Fred sighed heavily, "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."

"Wait," Hailey said sharply, " _Snape_? He's here?"

"Yeah," replied George. He closed the door and sat down on one of the bed. Fred and Ginny sat down too. "Giving a report," George said, "top secret."

"Git," Fred said.

"He's on our side now," said Hermione in a disapproving manner at Fred.

Ron snorted, "Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us…"

Hailey could picture his face if he saw her.

"Bill doesn't like him, either," said Ginny, as if that settled the manner.

Hailey sat on the bed opposite of the others. "Bill's here? Wasn't he supposed to be at work in Egypt?"

"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," said Fred. "He says he misses the tombs, but," he smirked, "there are compensations…"

Hailey arched an eyebrow at that, "what d'you mean by that?"

"Remember old Fleur Delacour?" asked George. Hailey nodded, remembering the quarter Veela, French, Beauxbatons, Triwizard champion. "She's got a job at Gringgots to ' _eemprove 'er Eenglish_ —'"

"And Bill's been giving her a lot of private lessons," sniggered Fred.

Hailey remembered how Mrs Weasley and Bill showed up on the last tournament, Fleur had eyed Bill with interest. Maybe Fred laughed because Ron had always had a crush on Fleur, but that could've been the Veela part of her.

"Charlie's in the Order, too," said George, "but he's still in Romania. Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."

"Couldn't Percy do that?" asked Hailey. She noticed how the Weasleys and Hermione exchanged dark looks. "Everything went to hell with him, didn't it?"

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad," Ron said to Hailey in a tense voice.

"What happened?" asked Hailey.

"Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding and Mum starts crying," explained Fred.

Hailey asked, "That bad, huh?"

"It's been awful," replied Ginny in a sad voice.

"I think we're well shot of him," said George, with an ugly look on his face.

"What happened?" asked Hailey.

"Percy and Dad had a row," explained Fred. "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normal Mum who shouts…"

"It was the first week back after term ended," said Ron. "We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told us he'd been promoted."

"He's been promoted?" asked Hailey in disbelief. She knew that Percy had made a large oversight of failing to notice that his boss, Bartemius Crouch, was being controlled by Lord Voldemort, even though the Ministry believed Crouch had gone mad.

"Yeah, we were all surprised," George said, "because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realised Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain…"

"So, why did they promote him, after all that?" asked Hailey.

"That's what we all wondered," said Ron, looking keen to have a normal conversation after Hailey stopped yelling. "He came home really pleased with himself—even more pleased than usual, if you can imagine that—and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts—" Hailey was briefly confused and Ron clarified, "Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."

"Only Dad wasn't," replied Fred sounding grim.

"Why wasn't he?" asked Hailey.

"Well, apparently Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody's having contact with Dumbledore," explained George.

"Dumbledore's name is mud with the Ministry these days, see," continued Fred. "They all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back."

"Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks," said George. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad's a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession—"

"But what does this have to do with Percy?" asked Hailey.

"I'm getting to that," said George. "Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family—and Dumbledore."

"I bet Percy loved that," said Hailey.

Ron laughed in a hollow sort of way. "He went completely beserk. He said—well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been—you know—not had a lot of money, I mean—"

"He said all _that_?" asked Hailey in disbelief. It sounded like Ginny made a hissing noise.

"I know," responded Ron in a low voice. "And it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and then he—Percy—knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry, he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."

Hailey swore under her breath. She was always indifferent to Percy because she didn't know him that well. She was in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, so she didn't see him as much. She had spent the summer at the Burrow in her second year and her fourth year; she couldn't get an opinion on him.

"Mum's been in a right state," said Ron dully. "You know—crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy, but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does if he meets Dad at work—ignore him, I s'pose."

"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," said Hailey, ignoring the way the Weasleys and Hermione flinched at the name. "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof—"

"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row," said Ron, giving her a look. "Percy said the only evidence was your word and…I dunno…he didn't think it was good enough."

"Percy takes the _Daily Prophet_ seriously," said Hermione in a tart voice as the Weasleys nodded.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Hailey. "He believes that rubbish? It's their word against knowing me. Have I acted like a madwoman around him? Honestly. He believes the paper over actually knowing me?"

Hermione nodded grimly. "I know. Have you seen the articles that they wrote about you?"

"Not all of them," muttered Hailey, "just the ones that Michael and Mandy send me. I just looked at the front cover."

"They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe," Hermione said.

"I bet my broomstick that Fudge is behind it," Hailey said. "Mandy says she bets her dog and snow globes that Fudge is behind. Michael says that he bets his candles that Fudge is behind it." For some reason, Michael had an odd obsession with candles, so he collects them. "Eva says that she _knows_ Fudge is behind it and that Fudge is an idiot."

"They didn't report a word about the dementors attacking you," said Hermione. "Someone's told them to keep that quiet."

"Probably Fudge," muttered Hailey. It was a bit jarring that Fudge had liked to her and now is smearing her name through the mud.

"Well, it should've been a really big story, out-of-control dementors. They haven't even reported that you broke the International Statute of Secrecy. We thought they would, it would be in so well with this image of you as some stupid show-off. We think they're biding their time until you're expelled then they're really going to town—" Hailey looked at her. "I mean, if you're expelled, obviously," Hermione added hastily, "You're really shouldn't be, not if they abide by their own laws, there's no case against you."

They had gone back on the topic about the hearing that she didn't want to think about. She looked around for something to change the subject on, but she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Uh-oh," Fred said, tugging on the Extendable Ear. There was a _crack_ and he and George vanished.

Mrs Weasley walked in the doorway. "The meeting's over. You can come down and have dinner now." She looked at Hailey, "Everyone's dying to see you, Hailey. And who's left all those Dungbombs outside the kitchen door?"

"Crookshanks," said Ginny. "He loves playing with them."

"Oh," replied Mrs Weasley, "I thought it might have been Kreacher, he keeps doing odd things like that. Now don't forget to keep your voices down in the hall. Ginny, your hands are filthy," Hailey noticed Ginny's hands were smudged. "What have you been doing? Go and wash them before dinner, please…"

Ginny grimaced at the others and followed Mrs Weasley out of the room, leaving Hailey along with Ron and Hermione. The two Gryffindors were looking apprehensive as if they were worried she was going to yell.

"Look," Hailey muttered but Ron shook his head.

In a quiet voice, Hermione said, "We knew that you'd be angry, Hailey, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we _did_ try to persuade Dumbledore—"

"Yeah, I know," replied Hailey. She looked for a topic that didn't involve the headmaster. "Who's Kreacher?"

"The house-elf who lives here," said Ron, "Nutter. Never met one like him."

Hermione frowned, "He's not a _nutter_ , Ron—"

"His life's ambition is to have his head cut off and stuck up on plaque just like his mother," said Ron, in an irritated tone. "Is that normal, Hermione?"

Hermione started, "Well—well if he is a bit strange, it's not his fault—"

Ron rolled his eyes at Hailey, "Hermione still hasn't given up on spew."

"It's not 'spew!'" said Hermione angrily. "It's the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. And it's not just me, Dumbledore says we should be kind to Kreacher too—"

"Yeah, yeah," said Ron. "C'mon, I'm starving." He led the way out of the room and onto the landing. Ron stuck out his arm and Hailey walked into it, chest first. "Hold it. They're still in the hall, we might be able to hear something—"

They looked over the banisters down to the gloomy hall below.

It was packed with witches and wizards, including all of the guard. They were whispering excitedly. In the very centre of the group, Hailey was the dark, greasy-hair of Professor Snape, who was her least favourite teacher at Hogwarts. She wondered what Snape was doing for the Order of the Phoenix.

A thin piece of flesh-coloured string descended in front of Hailey's face and she looked up to see Fred and George on the landing above, cautiously lowering the Extendable Ear towards the group below. They began to move toward the front door and out of sight.

"Damn it," Fred whispered, but it was loud enough for Hailey to hear.

The front door opened and closed.

"Snape never eats here," Ron whispered to Hailey. "Thank God. C'mon."

"And don't forget to keep your voice down in the hall, Hailey," Hermione whispered.

They walked past the row of house-elf heads on the wall. They saw Lupin, Mrs Weasley, and Tonks at the front door, magically sealing its many locks and bolts.

"We're eating down in the kitchen," Mrs Weasley whispered, meeting the teens at the bottom of the stairs. "Hailey, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall, it's through this door here—"

 _CRASH_

" _Tonks_!" cried Mrs Weasley, sounding exasperated, as if it had happened multiple times.

"I'm sorry!" wailed Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over—"

There was a horrible, blood-curdling screech.

The moth-eaten velvet curtains Hailey had passed earlier flown apart. For a moment, she thought there was a window there because an old woman in a black cap was screaming as if she was being tortured, but she realised it was a life-size portrait, which was the most realistic and unpleasant one she had seen in her life.

Lupin and Mrs Weasley ran forward, tugging at the curtains to close it over the old woman, but it didn't close. She screeched louder than ever, brandishing clawed hands, as if she can tear at their faces. " _Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers—_ "

Tonks apologised over and over again, pulling the huge, heavy troll's leg back off the floor. Mrs Weasley abandoned the attempt to close the curtains and hurried up and down the hall, Stunning the rest of the portraits with her wand. Before Hailey can tell Mrs Weasley to Stun the woman's portrait, a man with long black hair ran out of a door that faced Hailey.

He yelled at the protrait, "Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut _up_!" He grabbed the curtain that Mrs Weasley had abandoned.

The old woman's face paled and she howled, " _You!_ " Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull, " _Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!_ "

"I said—shut— _up_!" yelled the man, and with a great effort, he and Lupin managed to force the curtains closed again.

The old woman's screeching ended, leaving a relieving silence. The man panted and swept his hair out of his eyes as Hailey's godfather, Sirius, turned to face her. "Hello, Hailey." He sounded grim, "I see you've met my mother."


	5. The Order of the Phoenix

Hailey looked at Sirius, "That was your—?"

"My dear old mum, yeah," replied Sirius. "We've been trying to get her down for a month, but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."

They went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the other just behind them. "Was this was your parents' house? Is that why there's a portrait of your mother here?" She can tell that the others were following after them.

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Dumbledore as Headquarters—it was about the only useful thing that I've been able to do.

Hailey noticed how hard and bitter Sirius's voice sounded. She followed him through a cavernous room with rough stone walls. Most of the light was coming from a large fire at the far end of the room. A haze of pipe smoke hung in the air little battle fumes, through which covered the menacing shapes of heavy iron pots and pans hanging from the dark ceiling.

There were many chairs crammed into the room for the meeting and a long wooden table stood in the middle of them, littered with rolls of parchment, goblets, empty wine bottles, and a heap of, what appeared to be, rags. Mr Weasley and his eldest son Bill were talking quietly with their heads together at the end of the table.

Mrs Weasley cleared her throat, making her husband, a thin, balding, red-haired man who was wearing horn-rimmed glasses, jump to his feet after looking around.

"Hailey!" Mr Weasley exclaimed, hurrying forward to greet her and hugged her, "Good to see you!"

Over Mr Weasley's shoulder, Hailey saw Bill, who had his long hair in a ponytail, hurriedly rolled up the parchment that was on the table.

"Journey all right, Hailey?" asked Bill, trying to gather up twelve scrolls at once. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come from Greenland, then?"

"He tried," replied Tonks, striding over to help Bill, but somehow toppled a candle onto the last piece of parchment. "Oh no—sorry—"

"Here, dear," said Mrs Weasley, sounding exasperated and repaired the parchment with a wave of her wand. In the flash of light caused by the charm, Hailey saw what looked like the plan of a building.

Mrs Weasley saw her looking and snatched up the plan. She stuffed it in Bill's already overload arms. She snapped, "This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings." She went to an ancient looking dresser and unloading dinner plates.

Bill took out his wand and muttered, " _Evanesce!_ " making the scrolls vanish.

"Sit, Hailey," said Sirius. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

The pile of rags did a grunting snore and someone jerked awake. "Some'n say m'name?" Mundungus mumbled sleepily. "I agree with Sirius…" He raised his hand as if voting.

Ginny giggled.

"The meeting's over, Dung," said Sirius as they sat down around him. "Hailey's arrived."

"Eh?" mumbled Mundungus, peering at Hailey through his red hair. "Blimey, so she 'as. Yeah…you all right, 'ailey?"

"Yeah," said Hailey.

Mundungus fumbled nervously in his pockets, still staring at her, and then pulled out a grimy looking black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, ignited the end of it with his wand and took a deep drag on it. Billowing clouds of green smoke obscured him in seconds.

"Owe you a 'pology," he said from the middle of the smelly cloud.

"For the last time, Mundungus," called Mrs Weasley, "Will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"

"Ah," said Mundung, "Right, sorry, Molly."

The cloud of smoke vanished as Mundung stowed his pipe back in his pocket, but the acrid smell of burning socks lingered.

"And if you want dinner before midnight, I'll need a hand," Mrs Weasely said to the room. Hailey walked forward to help. "No, you can stay where you are, Hailey dear, you've had a long journey—"

"What can I do, Molly?" asked Tonks enthusiastically, bounding forwards.

Mrs Weasley looked apprehensive, "Er—no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today."

"No, no, I want to help!" said Tonks brightly. She knocked a chair over as she went to the dresser where Ginny was getting the cutlery out.

Soon, there was the sound of chopping meat and vegetables, which were moving on their own, while Mr Weasley supervised. Mrs Weeasley was stirring a cauldron that dangled over the fire. The others were taking out plates, goblets, and food from the pantry. Hailey was left to sit at the table with Sirius and Mundungus, who was blinking at her in a mournful way.

"Seen old Figgy since?" Mundungus asked.

"No," replied Hailey shaking her head, "I haven't seen anyone."

"See, I would 'ave left," said Mundungus, leaning forward. He had a pleading tone, "But I 'ad a business opportunity—"

Hailey nearly jumped when she felt something rub against her legs. She looked down to see that it was Crookshanks, Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat. He had wound himself once around Hailey's legs, purring, and then jumped onto Sirius's lap. The cat curled up and Sirius scratched him almost absentmindedly behind the ears as he turned to Hailey.

Sirius was still looking grim-faced, "Had a good summer so far?"

"No, it's been lousy," replied Hailey.

It looked like Sirius almost grinned, "Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hailey.

"Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely. You think you've had it bad? At least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights…I've been stuck inside for a month."

"The Ministry of Magic isn't going to give up on you unless you're dead," Hailey said.

"And Voldemort will know all about me being an Animagus by now, Wormtail will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix…or so Dumbledore feels," replied Sirius. He had used a flat tone when he spoke Dumbledore's name that Hailey figured it meant that Sirius wasn't happy with the headmaster either.

"At least you've known what's been going on," Hailey said.

"Oh, yeah," said Sirius in a sarcastic tone. "Listening to Snape's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm sat on my backside here, having a nice comfortable time…asking me how the cleaning's going—"

"How long has this house been empty for?" asked Hailey.

Sirius said, "Ten years, not since my dear mother died, unless you count her old house-elf and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages—"

"Sirius," said Mundungus. He was closely examining an empty silver goblet. "This solid silver, mate?"

"Yes," replied Sirius looking at it with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."

"That'd come off, though," muttered Mundungus, polishing it with his cuff.

"Fred—George— _no, just carry them!_ " shrieked Mrs Weasley.

They turned around and ran away from the table, while Mundungus fell backward in his chair because the Weasley twins had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of Butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard with a knife, to fly through the air towards them. The stew skidded the length of the table, only stopping at the end. It left a long black burn on the wooden surface, the flagon of Butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling the contents everywhere. The bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.

" _For heaven's sake!_ " screamed Mrs Weasley. " _There was no need—I've had enough of this—just because you're allowed to use magic now, you don't have to whip your wands out for every tiny little thing!_ "

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Fred, hurrying over to pull the bread knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sirius, mate—didn't mean to—"

Hailey and Sirius started laughing, while Mundungus swore as he got to his feet. Crookshanks had hissed and ran under the dresser.

"Boys," Mr Weasley said, putting the cauldron back in the middle of the table. "Your mother's right, you're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age—"

"None of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs Weasley raged at the twins as she slammed a fresh flagon of Butterbeer onto the table. It nearly spilled almost as much. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't charm everything he met! Percy—" She stopped, catching her breath. She gave a frightened look at her husband, whose expression was stoic.

"Let's eat," said Bill quickly.

"It looks wonderful, Molly," said Lupin ladling stew onto a plate for her and handing it across the table.

There was silence as everyone settled down. Mrs Weasley turned to Sirius, "I've been meaning to tell you, Sirius, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room. It keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."

"Whatever you like," replied Sirius in an indifferent tone.

"The curtains in there are full of doxys, too," Mrs Weasley went on. "I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," said Sirius, and Hailey was sure that he was sounding sarcastic.

Hailey watched Tonks transform her nose between mouthfuls of stew, to entertain Hermione and Ginny, who were laughing.

Mr Weasley, Bill, and Lupin were having an intense discussion about goblins.

Fred, George, Ron, and Mundungus looked like they were talking about something funny.

Hailey looked at Sirius, "How come Mandy, Michael, and Eva didn't come here?"

"Mr and Mrs Weasley asked their parents if they could stay with them over the summer, but their parents thought that it would be best to keep them close," Sirius said. "It would be a little too suspicious if more teenagers were running around here."

"I suppose that's a good idea," Hailey said kicking her feet. "Don't want to look too suspicious." She added, "And Eva is Michael's cousin."

"How come you haven't told me that Michael was your boyfriend in any of the letters you sent to me?" Sirius asked.

Hailey choked on her stew. Sirius clapped her on the back as she managed to say, "He's not—he's not my _boyfriend_."

"Fred and George told anyone who listened that you two kissed in King's Cross," Sirius said.

Hailey's felt herself blushing and looked at the twins, who seemed to smirk in her direction as they listened to Mundungus's story. She looked at Sirius, "We haven't discussed it. I wanted to talk to him about it in person—"

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," said Mrs Weasley sharply, as Ron slumped forward onto the table, howling with laughter.

"Beg pardon, Molly," said Mundungus at once, wiping his eyes and winking at Hailey. "But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong—"

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons," replied Mrs Weasley in a cold tone.

Fred and George busied themselves with their goblets of Butterbeer; George was hiccoughing. Mrs Weasley threw a very nasty look at Sirius before getting to her feet and going to a fetch a large crumble for pudding. Hailey looked at Sirius, confused.

"Molly doesn't approve of Mundungus," Sirius whispered to her.

"Why is he in the Order?" asked Hailey, glad that the subject had been taken off of her relationship with Michael.

"He's useful," Sirius replied. "Knows all the crooks—well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. But he's also very loyal to Dumbledore, who helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Dung around, he hears things we don't. But Molly thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. She hasn't forgiven him for slipping off duty when he was supposed to be tailing you."

* * *

Three helpings of rhubarb crumble and custard later, Hailey laid down her spoon. There was a lull in the general conversation. Mr Weasley was leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed, Tonks was yawning widely, her nose back to normal, and Ginny was rolling Butterbeer corks for Crookshanks to chase because she had lured him out from the dresser.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Mrs Weasley with a yawn.

"Not just yet, Molly," said Sirius. He pushed his plate away and turning to look at Hailey. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The sleepily relaxed atmosphere had changed to tense and alert. Lupin had lowered his goblet, looking wary.

"I did," replied Hailey. "I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so—"

"And they're quite right," replied Mrs Weasley. "You're too young." She was sitting up, her fists clenched on the chair arms, the drowsiness gone.

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Hailey's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. She's got the right to know what's been happen—"

"Hang on!" interrupted George.

"How come Hailey gets her questions answered?" asked Fred.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" said George.

"' _You're too young, you're not in the Order,_ '" mimicked Fred, using a high-pitched voice that eerily sounded like his mothers. "Hailey's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what that Order's doing," responded Sirius in a calm manner, "That's your parents' decision. Hailey, on the hand—"

"It's now down to you to decide what's good for Hailey!" Mrs Weasley said sharply. She had a dangerous looking expression. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" asked Sirius is a polite way, but he seemed like he was preparing for a fight.

"The bit about not telling Hailey more than she _needs to know_ ," said Mrs Weasley, using emphasis on the last three words.

Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George were looking between Sirius and Mrs Weasley, as if they were watching a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amongst abandoned Butterbeer corks, her mouth slightly open. Lupin was staring at Sirius.

"I don't intend to tell her more than she needs to know, Molly," said Sirius. "But as she was the one who saw Voldemort come back," there was a shudder around the table, "she had more right than most to—"

"She's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" snapped Mrs Weasley, "She's only fifteen and—"

"And she's dealt with as much as most in the Order," added Sirius, "And more than some—"

"No one's denying what she's done!" said Mrs Weasley, her voice was rising. Her fists were trembling on the arms of her chair, "But she's still—"

"She's not a child!" said Sirius in an impatient tone.

"She's not an adult either!" said Mrs Weasley, her face was turning red. "She's not Lily or James, Sirius!"

"I'm perfectly clear who she is, thanks, Molly," replied Sirius in a cold tone.

"I'm not sure you are!" said Mrs Weasley. "Sometimes the way you talk about her, it's as though you've got your best friend back!"

"And there's something wrong with that?" asked Hailey, confused.

"What's wrong, Hailey is that you are not your father," said Mrs Weasley looking at Sirius, "even if you have his eyes. And you're not your mother, either. You are still at school and adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" demanded Sirius. His voice was rising.

Mrs Weasley said, "Meaning you have been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and—"

"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" Sirius said loudly.

"Arthur!" said Mrs Weasley, turning to her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"

Mr Weasley took his glasses off and cleaned them on his robes as slowly as possible, not looking at his wife. When he replaced them, he said, "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Hailey will have to be filled into a certain extent, now that she is staying at headquarters—"

Mrs Weasley said, "Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting her to ask whatever she likes!"

"Personally," said Lupin in a quiet voice. He had looked away from Sirius. Mrs Weasley turned to him. "I think it better that Hailey gets the facts—not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture—from us, rather than a garbled version from…others." His expression seemed neutral, but Hailey was sure that he knew that some Extendable Ears had survived the purge.

"Well," said Mrs Weasley, breathing deeply. She was looking around the table as if looking for support. "Well…I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Hailey to know too much, and speaking as someone who has her best interests at heart—"

"She's not your daughter," said Sirius in a quiet voice.

"She's as good as," replied Mrs Weasley. "Who else has she got?"

"She's got me!" snapped Sirius.

"Yes," replied Mrs Weasley. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after her while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

Hailey wanted to say that it wasn't really Sirius's fault, considering that it was Peter Pettigrew's fault for framing him, but was sidetracked when Sirius started standing up.

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Hailey," said Lupin sharply. "Sirius, sit down." Mrs Weasley's lower lip was trembling and Sirius slowly sat down, his face white. "I think Hailey ought to be allowed to have a say in this. She's old enough to decide for herself."

"I want to know what's going on," said Hailey. She didn't look at Mrs Weasley. She was touched at being as good as a daughter, but she was also a little annoyed with the over-protectiveness. Sirius was right, she wasn't a child and she at least deserved some answers.

"Very well," said Mrs Weasley, her voice cracking. "Ginny—Ron—Hermione—Fred—George, I want you out of this kitchen, now."

"We're of age!" Fred and George bellowed together.

"If Hailey's allowed, why can't I?" shouted Ron.

"Mum, I want to hear!" wailed Ginny.

"No!" shouted Mrs Weasley, standing up. "I absolutely forbid—"

"Molly, you can't stop Fred and George," said Mr Weasley wearily. "They are of age—"

Mrs Weasley interrupted, "They're still at school—"

"But they're legally adults now," said Mr Weasley in the tired voice.

Mrs Weasley was red in the face, "I—oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron—"

"Hailey'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!" said Ron hotly. He looked at Hailey, "Won't—won't you?"

Hailey nodded, "Of course I will."

Ron and Hermione smiled at her.

"Fine!" shouted Mrs Weasley, "Fine! Ginny— _bed!_ "

She didn't go quietly because they heard raging and storming at her mother all the way up the stairs. When she reached the hall, Mrs Black's ear-splitting shrieks added to the din. Lupin hurried off to the portrait to quiet her down. After he returned, he closed the kitchen door and took his seat at the table again.

"Okay, Hailey…what do you want to know?" asked Sirius.

Hailey took a deep breath. "Where's Voldemort? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything—"

"That's because there weren't any funny deaths yet," said Sirius, "not as far as we know, anyway…And we know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," added Lupin.

"How come he stopped killing people?" asked Hailey.

"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself," said Sirius. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or rather, you messed it up for him," stated Lupin, looking satisfied.

"How?" asked Hailey confused.

"You weren't supposed to survive," said Sirius. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the very last person he wanted to be alerted to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," said Lupin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How did that help?" asked Hailey.

"Are you kidding?" asked Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever scared of!"

"Thanks to you, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned," said Sirius.

"So, what has the Order been doing?" asked Hailey, looking around at all of them.

Sirius said, "Working as hard as we can to make sure Voldemort doesn't carry out his plans."

"How do you know what his plans are?" asked Hailey.

"Dumbledore's got an idea," said Lupin. "Dumbledore's ideas normally turn out to be accurate."

"What does Dumbledore reckon he's planning?" asked Hailey.

"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," responded Sirius. "In the old days, he had huge numbers at his command: witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Death Eaters, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the giants; well, they'll be just one of the groups he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Death Eaters."

"You're going to try and stop him from getting more followers?" asked Hailey.

"We're doing our best," responded Lupin.

"How are you doing that?" asked Hailey.

"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard," said Bill. "It's proving tricky, though."

Hailey had to think about it. "It's because of the Ministry's attitude, right. Cornelius Fudge refuses to believe he came back, for reasons unknown."

"Fudge is frightened of Dumbledore, you see," said Tonks sadly.

"He's frightened of Dumbledore?" said Hailey incredulous.

"Frightened of what's he up to," clarified Mrs Weasley. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."

"That's stupid," said Hailey. "Dumbledore doesn't want—"

"Of course he doesn't," said Mr Weasley. "He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it when Millicent Bagnold retired. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Dumbledore had, even though Dumbledore never applied for the job."

Lupin explained, "Deep down, Fudge knows Dumbledore's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry, he was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice. But it seems he's become fond of power, and much more confident. He loves being Minister for Magic and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."

Hailey thought about it. "He thinks that Dumbledore and I are making it up, because it would mean trouble."

"Trouble that the Ministry hadn't had to cope with in nearly fourteen years," said Sirius bitterly. "Fudge just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself that Dumbledore's lying to destabilise him."

Lupin explained, "The problem is the Ministry insisted there's nothing to fear from Voledmort, it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. What's more, the Ministry's leaning heavily on the _Daily Prophet_ not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumour-mongering, so most of the wizarding community are completely unaware anything's happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters, if they're using the Imperius Curse."

"But you've been telling people, right?" asked Hailey, looked at Mr Weasley, Bill, Sirius, Mundungus, Lupin, and Tonks. "You've been letting people know he's back."

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" asked Sirius in a restless tone.

"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community. It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf," Lupin said.

"Tonks and Arthur would lost their jobs at the Ministry if they started shooting their mouths off," said Sirius. "It's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."

"We've managed to convince a couple of people, though," said Mr Weasely. "Tonks, here, for one—she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage—Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset, too; he's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry information that Sirius is in Tibet."

Hailey started, "If none of you are putting the news out that Voldemort's back—"

"Who said none of us are putting the news out?" said Sirius, "Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?"

"I've read some of those articles," muttered Hailey.

"They're trying to discredit him," said Lupin. "Didn't you see the _Daily Prophet_ last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true; he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot—that's the Wizard High Court—and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."

"But Dumbledore says he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards," added Bill grinning.

"It's no laughing matter," said Mr Weasley sharply. "If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Azkaban, and the lastthing we want is to have Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously. If Dumbledore's out of the way—well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."

"Since Voldemort's trying to recruit more Death Eaters, word would surely spread that he had came back, right?" asked Hailey.

"Voldemort doesn't march up to people's house and bang on their front doors, Hailey," said Sirius. "He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practised at operating in secret. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in. He's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on those for the moment."

"What else is he after?" asked Hailey. She could've sworn she saw Sirius and Lupin exchange quick looks.

Sirius answered, "Stuff he can only get by stealth." Hailey was confused, "Like a weapon. Something he didn't have last time."

"When he was powerful before?" asked Hailey.

"Yes," responded Sirus.

"Like what kind of weapon?" asked Hailey. "Something that's worse than the Killing Curse—?"

"That's enough!" shouted Mrs Weasley. She had returned from taking Ginny upstairs. Her arms were crossed and she looked angry. "I want you in bed, now," she said. She looked at Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione, "All of you."

Fred started, "You can't boss us—"

"Watch me," snarled Mrs Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given Hailey plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct her into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" asked Hailey, confused.

"The Order is comprised only of overage wizards," Lupin said. Fred and George opened their mouths. "Wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved of which you have no idea, any of you. I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius half-shrugged, but didn't argue. Mrs Weasley beckoned to her sons and Hermione. One by one they stood up, and Hailey followed suit.


	6. The Noble and Most Ancient of Black

A/N: Colton Taylor is the creation of gaywhovian93. The face-claim for Colton is Jonathon Lipicki.

* * *

Mrs Weasley followed them upstairs, looking grim. When they reached the first landing, she said, "I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking. We've got a busy day tomorrow." To Hermione, she said, "I expect Ginny's asleep. So try not to wake her up."

After Hermione told them goodnight, Fred whispered, "Asleep, yeah, right. If Ginny's not lying awake waiting for Hermione to tell her everything they said downstairs, then I'm a Flobberworm…"

"All right, Ron, Hailey," said Mrs Weasley on the second landing, pointing at the rooms, "off to bed with you."

"'Night," Hailey and Ron said to the twins.

"Sleep tight," said Fred, winking at them.

George elbowed Fred in the ribs and in a teasing voice, said, "Don't wink at her. Michael might not appreciate someone winking at his girlfriend."

Hailey felt her face warm up as she went into the room that Mrs Weasley had pointed out to her.

"Now none of that," Hailey heard Mrs Weasley admonish as Mrs Weasley started to close the door.

"Lock your door!" Ron shouted right as the door clicked shut right behind Hailey.

The bedroom that Hailey was in, looking dank and gloomy, with some awful looking floral wallpaper; green with white flowers. Hailey felt her eye twitch, knowing that it was going to haunt her nightmares for the rest of the summer. The room had twin beds in it and there was a gilded mirror that was covered in a thick looking layer of dust and cobwebs.

She went to put on her pajamas, which was an overly large grey shirt that had once belonged to Dudley, when there was a knock on the door. She went over and opened the door. Ron slipped in the room and sat down on one of the twin beds. He asked, "What d'you reckon?"

Hailey didn't need him to clarify and said, "Well, they didn't tell us much we couldn't have guessed, did they? I mean, all they've really said is that the Order's trying to stop people from joining Voldemort." Ron had inhaled sharply. "When are you going to start using his name? Sirius and Lupin do."

Ron ignored that, "Yeah, you're right. We already knew nearly everything they told us, from using the Extendable Ears. The only new bit was about—"

 _CRACK_

"Ouch!" Ron shouted in pain as the Weasley twins Apparated on his knees.

"Keep your voice down Ron, or Mum'll be back up here," said George.

"You two just Apparated on my knees," Ron said groaning in pain.

Fred replied, "Yeah, well, how would we know that you would be sitting here?"

The Weasley twins got down from the bed.

"So, got there yet?" asked George eagerly.

"The weapon that Sirius mentioned?" asked Hailey, sitting down on one bed.

"Let slip, more like," said Fred, sitting next to Ron. "We didn't hear about that on the old Extendables, did we?"

"What d'you reckon it is?" asked Hailey.

"Could be anything," replied Fred.

"But there can't be anything worse than the Killing Curse, can there?" asked Ron. "What's worse than death?"

"Maybe it's something that can kill loads of people at once," suggested Geroge.

"Maybe it's some particularly painful way of killing people," said Ron.

"He's got the Cruicatus Curse for causing pain," said Hailey, nearly shuddering at the memory of that being used on her. "He doesn't need anything more efficient than that."

There was silence and Hailey knew that the others were wondering what horrors that this weapon could cause.

"So, who d'you think's got it now?" asked George.

"I hope it's on our side," replied Ron sounding nervous.

"If it is, Dumbledore's probably keeping it," said Fred.

"Where?" asked Ron, "Hogwarts?"

"Bet it is! That's where he hid the Philosopher's Stone," said George.

"A weapon's going to be a lot bigger than the Stone, though!" said Ron.

"Not necessarily," said Fred.

"Yeah, size is no guarantee of power," said George, "Look at Ginny."

"What do you mean by that?" Hailey asked.

"You've never been on the receiving end of one of her Bat-Bogey Hexes, have you?" asked Fred.

"Shh!" ordered Fred, half-rising from the bed. "Listen!"

They got quiet and Hailey heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Mum," muttered George and there was a loud _crack_. A few seconds later, there was a creak outside Hailey's door. It was obvious that Mrs Weasley was listening to see if she had gone to bed. The floorboard creaked again and she was sure that she was listening at Ron's door. There was a creak of the floorboard as Mrs Weasely headed upstairs to check on Fred and George.

"She doesn't trust us at all, you know," said Ron, sounding regretful.

"You better get to your room before she comes back down," Hailey pointed out.

"Don't forget to lock the door," repeated Ron.

"Why?" asked Hailey.

"Kreacher," said Ron. "First night I was here, he came wandering in at three in the morning. Trust me, you don't want to wake up and find him prowling around your room." He left the room and Hailey went to lock the door. She lied down on the bed that the Weasleys didn't lay on.

She was sure that she wouldn't fall asleep because the evening had been packed with things to think about. Mrs Weasley was creaking back downstairs again and once she left, Hailey could hear others making their way upstairs… _In fact, many-legged creatures cantered up and down, outside the bedroom door. Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher was saying, '_ Beauties, aren't they, eh, Hailey? We'll be studyin' weapons this term…' _and Hailey saw that the creatures had cannons for heads and were wheeling to face her…she ducked…_

"Mum told me to get you up. Breakfast is in the kitchen and then she needs you in the drawing room because there are more doxys than she thought. There's also a nest of dead puffskeins under the sofa," Ginny said, outside Hailey's door.

"Poffle," Hailey muttered, groggily.

"What was that?" asked Ginny.

"A group of puffskeins is called a poffle," replied Hailey, still half-asleep.

"Okay," replied Ginny, before leaving the landing.

* * *

Half an hour later, Hailey got dressed and had eaten breakfast quickly, entered the drawing room, which was on the first floor.

It was a long room with a high ceiling. There were olive-green walls covered in dirty tapestries. Every time someone walked, the carpet expelled little clouds of dust. The curtains were moss-green and buzzed as if swarming with invisible bees.

Mrs Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George were standing by them. They had tied a cloth over their nose and mouth, and were holding a large bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end.

"Cover your face and take a spray," Mrs Weasley said to Hailey the moment she saw her. She pointed to a bottle of black liquid that was on a spindle-legged table. "It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad—what that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years—"

Hailey noticed that Hermione gave a reproachful look at Mrs Weasley, even though Hermione's face was half-concealed by a tea towel.

Hermione said, "Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage—"

"You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to, Hermione," said Sirius, walking in the room, carrying a bloodstained bag. Hailey was disgusted, "I've just been feeding Buckbeak. I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom. Anyway…this writing desk…" He dropped the bag of rats into an armchair. He bent over to examine the locked cabinet, which was shaking slightly.

"Well, Molly, I'm sure this is a boggart," said Sirius, looking through the keyhole. "But perhaps we ought to let Mad-Eye have a look at it before we let it out—knowing my mother, it could be something much worse."

"Right you are, Sirius," stated Mrs Weasley.

They were speaking in light, polite voices which Hailey figured, meant that they hadn't forgotten their disagreement from the night before.

There was a loud clanging bell, followed by the cacophony of screams and wails which had been triggered by the previous night when Tonks knocked over the troll leg umbrella stand.

"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" said Sirius in an exasperated tone. He hurried out of the room and heard him yelling down the stairs as Mrs Black's screeches echoed through the house: " _Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth_ …"

Hailey took her time closing the door. She wanted to listen to what was going on downstairs. Mrs Black's screeches had been silenced, and Hailey heard Sirius walking down the hall, and the clatter of the chain on the front door.

"Hestia's just relieved me, so she's got Moody's Cloak now, thought I'd leave a report for Dumbledore…" said a deep voice that she recognised as Kingsley Shacklebolt's.

Hailey got a prickling feeling, which meant that Mrs Weasley was staring at her. She closed the drawing-room door and rejoined the doxy party.

Mrs Weasley was looking over the page on doxys in _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests_. "Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxys bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it."

"You could've asked Hailey or Hermione instead of going over that fraud's book," Fred muttered.

Mrs Weasley straightened up and stood in front of the curtains. She beckoned them all forward. "When I say the word, start spraying immediately," she said. "They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays that one good squirt with paralyse them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket." She stepped out of their line and raised her own spray. "All right— _squirt._ "

Hailey sprayed for a few seconds when a fully-grown doxy soared out of a fold on the curtain. It had shiny beetle-like wings whirring, tiny needle-sharp teeth bared, its fairy-like body covered with thick black hair and its four tiny fists clenched with fury. She sprayed the doxy in the face with some Doxycide, making it freeze in midair. It fell with a loud _thunk_ onto the carpet. She picked it up and threw it in the bucket.

"Fred, what are you doing?" demanded Mrs Weasley. "Spray that at once and throw it away!"

Hailey turned to see Fred holding a struggling doxy between his forefinger and thumb.

"Right," said Fred happily as he sprayed the doxy quickly in the face so it was knocked unconscious. The moment Mrs Weasley turned her back, Fred pocked it with a wink.

"We want to experiment with doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes," George told Hailey under his breath.

Two doxys flew towards Hailey's nose, and she sprayed them, as she moved closer to the Weasley twins. "What's Skiving Snackboxes?"

"Range of sweets to make you ill," George explained, keeping an eye on his mother. "Not seriously ill, mind, just ill enough to get you out of a class when you feel like it. Fred and I have been developing them this summer. They're double-ended, colour-coded chews. If you eat the orange half of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up. The moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital wing, you swallow the purple half—"

"'Which restores you to full fitness enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your own choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom,'" Fred finished. "That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway." He had moved out of Mrs Weasley's line of vision. He was picking a few stray doxys from the floor and putting them in his pocket. "But they still need a bit of work. At the moment our testers are having a bit of trouble stopping themselves puking long enough to swallow the purple end?"

Hailey frowned, "What testers?"

"Us and—" started Fred, but trailed off. "George and I take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies—we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat—"

"Mum thought we'd been dueling," interrupted George.

Hailey pretended to adjust the nozzle on the spray, "So the joke shop is still on?"

"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet," replied Fred, lowering his voice, even lower as Mrs Weasely wiped her brow with a scar before returning to spraying doxys. "We're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the _Daily Prophet_ last week."

"All thanks to you," said George. "But don't worry...Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the _Daily Prophet_ anymore, 'cause of the lies about you and Dumbledore."

Hailey grinned. She had forced the Weasley twins to take the thousand-Galleon prize money that she had won in the Triwizard Tournament to help them open their joke shop. She was glad to know that helping their plans were still unknown to Mrs Weasely, who thought running a joke was an unsuitable career choice.

* * *

De-doxying the curtains took up most of the morning. It was past midday when Mrs Weasely removed the scarf and sat in a sagging armchair. She jumped up, making a disgusted sound because she sat on the bag of dead rats. The curtains weren't buzzing because they hung limp and damp from the spraying. The doxys were lying unconscious in and around the bucket. There was a bowl of black eggs that Crookshanks sniffed at. Fred and George were giving each other looks.

"I think we'll tackle those after lunch," Mrs Weasley said, pointing at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets on either side of the mantelpiece.

Through the dust, Hailey could make out a selection of daggers, claw, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tarnished silver boxes inscribed in languages that Hailey couldn't understand, and the least pleasant of all ways an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, full of a dark liquid that Hailey hoped wasn't blood, because that would've been disgusting.

The clanging doorbell rang again and the screeches picked up as they looked at Mrs Weasley, who said, "Stay here. I'll bring up some sandwiches."

She left the room closing the door behind her. Everyone ran over to looked out the window down at the doorstep. There was a person with unkempt red hair, balancing cauldrons.

"Mundungus!" exclaimed Hermione. "Why did he bring all those cauldrons?"

"He's probably looking for a safe place to keep them," said Hailey. "That's what he was doing the night he was supposed to be following me? He picked up some dodgy cauldrons."

"You're right!" said Fred as the front door opened. Mundungus heaved the cauldrons through the front door when it opened. He disappeared from view. "Blimy, Mum won't like it…"

The Weaselys crossed to the door and stood beside it, listening closely. Mrs Black's screams had stopped.

"Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley," Fred muttered. He was frowning as he concentrated. "Can't hear properly…" He turned to Fred, "D'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?"

"It might be worth it," replied George. "I could sneak upstairs and get a pair—"

" _We are not running a hideout for stolen goods!_ " Mrs Weasley shouted making the Extendable Ears useless.

"I love hearing Mum shout at someone else," said Fred, looking satisfied and opened the door an inch. "It makes such a nice change."

Mrs Weasley continued, " _Completely irresponsible, as if we haven't got enough to worry about without you dragging stolen cauldrons into the house—_ "

"The idiots are letting her get in her stride," said George shaking his head. "You've got to head her off early, otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus, ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Hailey—and there goes Sirius's mum again." He didn't need to point it out because they can hear the ghastly screeches from the portraits loud and clear. He started to close the door, but a house-elf made his way into the room.

The house-elf had a rag tied around its middle like a loincloth, but other than that, it was naked. It was very old, its skin looking to be several times to big for it. It was completely bald, because it had white hair growing out of its large bat-like ears. It had bloodshot watery grey eyes. Its fleshy nose was snout-like.

The elf didn't seem to notice Hailey, Hermione, and the Weasleys, or it didn't seem them. It shuffled hunchbacked, slowly towards the far end of the room, muttering in a deep, hoarse voice, "…smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my mistress's house, oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh, the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do…"

"Hello, Kreacher," said Fred loudly, closing the door with a snap.

The house-elf stood still and stopped muttering. He did an obviously fake jump of surprise. He said, "Kreacher did not see Young Master." He turned and bowed to Fred. Facing the carpet, he added, "Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is."

"Sorry?" said George, "Didn't catch that last bit."

"Kreacher said nothing," replied the elf, bowing to George. In a clear whisper, he said, "And there's its twin, unnatural little beasts they are."

Hailey wasn't sure if she should laugh or not. The elf straightened up, eyeing them all with disgust and started muttering again, "…and there's the Mudblood, standing there bold as brass, oh, if my mistress knew, oh, how she'd cry, and there's a new girl, Kreacher doesn't know her name. What is she doing here? Kreacher doesn't know…"

Hailey couldn't tell if the elf forgot that they were there or he just didn't care that they all could hear him insulting everyone.

"This is Hailey, Kreacher," said Hermione, "Hailey Potter."

Kreacher's eye widened and muttered furiously, "The Mudblood is talking Kreacher as though she is my friend, if Kreacher's mistress saw him in such company, oh, what would she say—"

"Don't call her a Mudblood!" shouted Ron and Ginny angrily in unison.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione whispered, "he's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's—"

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying," Fred cut in, eyeing Kreacher with dislike.

Kreacher still stared at Hailey, muttering, "Is it true? Is it Hailey Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the girl who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how she did it—"

"Don't we all, Kreacher?" interrupted Fred.

"What do you want, anyway?" demanded George.

Kreacher looked at George, "Kreacher is cleaning." He had an evasive tone that Hailey was sure meant that he was lying.

"A likely story," said someone from behind Hailey.

Sirius had come back and was glaring at the elf from the doorway. The noise in the hall was quieted down, so Mrs Weasley and Mundungus must have moved their argument away form the kitchen.

At the sight of Sirius, Kreacher did a ridiculous bow that ended in him shoving his nose into the floor.

"Stand up straight," ordered Sirius, sounding impatient. "Now, what are you up to?"

"Kreacher is cleaning," the house-elf claimed. "Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black—"

"And it's getting blacker every day, since it's filthy," responded Sirius.

"Master always like his little joke," said Kreacher, bowing again and muttered, "Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart—"

"My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher," snapped Sirius, "She kept herself alive out of pure spite."

Kreacher bowed once more as he spoke, "Whatever Master says." He sounded furious as he muttered, "Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother's boots, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was—"

"I asked you what you were up to," interrupted Sirius in a cold tone. "Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out."

"Kreacher would never move anything from its proper place in Master's house," said the elf and muttered, "Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it—"

"I thought it might be that," said Sirius, looking disdainfully at the opposite wall where the tapestry hung. "She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it, I certainly will." He looked at the elf, "Now go away, Kreacher."

As Kreacher shuffled past Sirius, the elf gave the man a look of pure loathing and muttered, "—comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too—"

"Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!" interrupted Sirius sounding irritated. He slammed the door shut on the elf.

"Sirius, he's not right in the head," Hermione pleaded, "I don't think he realises we can hear him."

"He's been alone too long," explained Sirius, "taking mad orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he's always a foul little—"

"If you could just set him free," replied Hermione hopefully, "Maybe—"

"We can't set him free," interrupted Sirius, "He knows too much about the Order. And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it." He walked to the tapestry that Kreacher wanted to protect. Hailey, Hermione, and the Weasleys followed after him.

The tapestry looked very old because it was faded and had little teeth marks like the doxys chewed on it. The golden thread however still glinted brightly enough to show a sprawling family tree. From what Hailey could see, there were names that went as back as the Middle Ages. Large words at the top of the tapestry said:

 **THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK  
"TOURJOURS PUR"**

Hailey looked at the bottom of the tapestry, looking for Sirius's name, but couldn't find it, except for what looked like a small, round, charred hole, like it was burnt by a cigarette. "Hey, how come your name's not on here?"

"It is," Sirius said, pointing at the burn. "My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home—Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."

Hailey was confused, "You ran away from home?"

"When I was about sixteen," replied Sirius, "I'd had enough."

"Where did you go?" asked Hailey.

"Your dad's place," said Sirius. "Your grandparents were really good about it; they sort of adopted me as a second son. Yeah, I camped out at your dad's during the school holidays, and then when I was seventeen, I got a place of own. My uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold—he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why—anyway, after that, I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr and Mrs Potter's for Sunday lunch, though."

"So, why did you…?" Hailey started, not sure how to phrase her question without sounding like she was prying or being insensitive.

"Leave?" finished Sirius. He smiled bitterly and ran his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. "It was because I hated the whole lot of them; my parents with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal…my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them…that's him." He pointed at the very bottom at the name: 'Regulus Black'. His date of death dated back fifteen years.

Hailey was surprised to see that he died at eighteen. "He died young."

"He joined the Death Eaters," Sirius replied and muttered, "Stupid idiot."

"He did?" asked Hailey surprised.

"Haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?" asked Sirius in a testy tone.

"Were—were your parents Death Eaters as well?" asked Hailey.

"No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge. They weren't alone, either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colours, who thought he had the right idea about things…They got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."

"How did he die? Was he killed by an Auror?" Hailey asked.

"Oh, no," replied Sirius. "No, he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders, more likely. I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death."

Hailey shivered at the story. She felt a slight pang of sympathy for Regulus. He probably wouldn't turn out so bad if he had been raised in a family that wasn't full of Dark wizards. Granted, Sirius turned out fine with the family he had.

"Lunch," called Mrs Weasley. She had her wand out, balancing a huge tray that was loaded with sandwiches and cakes. She was red in the face and still looked angry. The other moved to Mrs Weasely, eager for food but Hailey stood by Sirius, who looked closely at the tapestry.

"I haven't looked at this for years," Sirius said. He pointed at Phineas Nigellus, who was his great-great-grandfather. Sirius told Hailey that Phineas Nigellus was a headmaster of Hogwarts and was the least popular. He pointed at Araminta Meliflua's, with Sirius explaining that she was his mother's cousin, who made and failed to make a Ministry Bill that made Muggle-hunting legal. He pointed at Elladora's name and explained that she was his aunt and started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays.

"Of course, any time the family produced someone halfway decent, they were disowned," Sirius explained to Hailey and looked at the tapestry. "I see Tonks isn't on here. Maybe that's why Kreacher won't take orders from her—he's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks him…"

Hailey was surprised, "You and Tonks are related?"

"Oh, yeah," Sirius said. "Her mother, Andromeda, was my favourite cousin." He examined the tapestry again. "No, Andromeda's not on here either, look."

He pointed at the round burn marks between two names, Bellatrix and Narcissa. "Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so—" He mimed waving a wand at the tapestry and laughed in a sour way.

Hailey was staring at the names where Narcissa and Bellatrix's names were at. A line of gold had linked Narcissa's name with Lucius Malfoy's. A single vertical gold line from the two names led down to the name Draco.

"You're related to the Malfoys?" asked Hailey in disbelief.

"The pure-blood families are all interrelated," explained Sirius. "If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry pure-bloods our choice is very limited; there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed. But there's no point looking for them on here—if there was ever a family that was a bunch of blood traitors it's the Weaselys."

Hailey looked at the name: Bellatrix Black, which had a double line of gold thread connected to Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Lestrange…" Hailey mumbled. She remembered the name from somewhere, but she couldn't think where. It made her shiver.

"They're in Azkaban," replied Sirius flatly. Hailey looked at him. "Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus came in with Barty Crouch junior," explained Sirius, in the same flat tone. "Rodolphus's brother Rabastan was with them, too."

Hailey suddenly remembered seeing Bellatrix Lestrange inside Dumbledore's Pensieve, a device that thoughts and memories could be stored in. Bellatrix was a tall, dark woman with heavy-lidded eyes. She had stood at her trial and then she proclaimed her continuing allegiance to Lord Voldemort. She had been proud that she tried to find him after his downfall and she was sure that she would one day be rewarded for her never-ending loyalty.

"She's your cousin?" asked Hailey, bewildered at the idea.

"As far as I'm concerned, _they're_ not my family. _She's_ certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming into Azkaban," Sirius said bitterly.

"Oh," Hailey said. "I understand."

Sirius turned away from the tapestry, his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't like being back here." He stared across the drawing room. "I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again."

Hailey knew the feeling, and knew that's how she would feel if she left number four, Privet Drive, only to return and live there again.

"It's ideal for headquarters, of course," Sirius said. He explained how his dad put every security measure known to wizardkind on it when his dad lived there. Apparently the house was unplottable so Muggles can never come by or call and Dumbledore had added his own protection, so Hailey would find it difficulty to find a safer house. Since Dumbledore was the Secret-Keeper for the Order, nobody can find Headquarters unless Dumbledore told them were it was. He told Hailey that the note Moody gave to her was from Dumbledore. Sirius gave a short laugh, "If my parents could see the use their house was being put to, now…well, my mother's portrait should give you some idea." He scowled and sighted, "I wouldn't mind if I could just get out occasionally and do something useful. I've asked Dumbledore whether I can escort you to your hearing—as Snuffles, obviously—so I can give you a bit of moral support, what d'you think."

Hailey felt a sickening sense of dread, because she hadn't thought about the hearing since dinner the previous evening. In the excitement of being back with her friends and everything that was going on with the Order, she forgot about it.

She looked at Hermione and the Weaselys, eating their sandwiches and wondered how she would feel if they went back to Hogwarts without her. She wondered who Michael would end up dating if she wasn't there. He would probably end up with Ginny and then move on to Cho Chang.

"Don't worry," said Sirius. Hailey looked at him and realised that Sirius had been watching her. "I'm sure they'll clear you because there's definitely something in the International Statute of Secrecy about being allowed to use magic to save your own life."

"If they end up expelling me, can I come and live with you?" Hailey whispered to him.

Sirius gave her a sad smile, "We'll see."

"Knowing that I don't have to go back to the Durselys' would make me feel a lot better about the hearing," Hailey said.

"They must be terrible if you like this place," said Sirius in a gloomy manner.

"Hurry up you two, or there won't be any food left," Mrs Weasley called to them.

Sirius gave a big sigh, gave a dark look at the tapestry, and the two went to join the others at the tray of sandwiches.

* * *

After eating lunch, Hailey found herself emptying the glass-fronted cabinets. It took a lot of concentration because many of the objects didn't want to leave the dusty shelves. Sirius had gotten bit by a silver snuffbox and his hand had gotten a very unpleasant crusty covering like it was a tough brown glove, which he examined with interest. "It's okay." He tapped his hand lightly with his wand, "Wartcap powder must be in there." His skin returned to normal and he threw the snuffbox in the sack that held the other items from the cabinets.

A few minutes later, Hailey saw George wrap up his own hand carefully in a cloth and sneak the snuffbox in his doxy-filled pocket.

They found a silver instrument that looked like a many-legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Hailey's arm like a spider when she picked it up. It attempted to stab her and Sirius smashed the thing with a book that was titled: _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_.

There was a musical box that played a faint sinister, tinkling tune when wound, which made everyone become weak and sleepy, until Ginny slammed the lid shut. There was a heavy locket that couldn't be open, and there was a number of ancient seals that Hailey couldn't help but think that Michael would've loved looking at. There was dusty box that had an Order of Merlin, First Class which had been awarded to Sirius's grandfather for 'services to the Ministry.'

"It means that he gave them a load of gold," said Sirius in a contempt tone, and threw the medal in the rubbish sack.

When they were cleaning, Kreacher came into the room and tried smuggling things away under the loincloth and muttered horrible curses when they caught him.

Sirius had retrieved the golden ring that had the Black crest on it from Kreacher, the elf burst into tears, and left the room sobbing and calling Sirius names that Hailey never heard before.

"It was my father's," stated Sirius, throwing the ring in the sack. "Kreacher wasn't _quite_ as devoted to him as to my mother, but I still caught him snogging a pair of my father's old trousers last week."

Hailey shuddered at the mental image. That was going to end up in her nightmare along with that horrid floral wallpaper.

* * *

It took three days for the drawing room to be decontaminated. The only undesirable thing that was left in it was the Black Family Tree tapestry, which resisted all their attempts to remove it and the rattling writing desk Moody hadn't dropped by, so they couldn't be sure what was inside it.

Mrs Weasley had moved them from the drawing room to a dining room that was on the ground floor. In the dresser, they had found saucer-sized spiders, which caused Ron to leave the room to make a cup of tea and returned an hour and a half later.

The china had the Black crest and motto on it, was thrown into a sack by Sirius. A set of old photographs in tarnished silver frame met the same fate as the china. The people in the photograph screamed shrilly as the glass smashed.

It felt more like waging war on the house instead of, in Snape's word, cleaning it. The house seemed to put up a fight with was helped by Kreacher. The elf kept appearing wherever they met up, muttering more and more offensive words as he attempted to grab anything he can from the rubbish sacks.

Sirius ended up having to threaten Kreacher with clothes, but Kreacher gave him a watery stare and said, "Master must do as Master wishes," and when he turned away, muttered loudly, "But Master will not turn Kreacher away, no, because Kreacher knows what they are up to, oh yes, he is plotting against the Dark Lord, yes, with these Mudbloods and traitors and scum…"

That resulted in Sirius grabbing Kreacher by the back of the loincloth and threw him from the room, to which Hermione protested over.

* * *

It seemed like the doorbell rang several times a day, which meant that Sirius's mother shrieked repeatedly. Hailey and the others attempted to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they got very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation. They were able to sneak off before Mrs Weasley had them return to the tasks.

Snape had dropped by several more times, and Hailey was relieved to never come face-to-face with him. Hailey had seen the Transfiguartion teacher, Professor McGonagall, who looked odd wearing a Muggle dress and coat, but she seemed busy to stay. Sometimes the visitors stayed to help. Tonks had joined them and found a murderous ghoul lurking around in an upstairs toilet. Lupin stayed in the house with Sirius, but left for long periods of time to do mysterious work for the Order, helped them repair a grandfather clock. The clock had developed the unpleasant habit of shooting heavy bolts at people who walked by.

Mundungus had rescued Ron from an ancient looking set of purple robes that tried to strangle him when Ron removed them from a wardrobe. That incident had redeemed Mundungus slightly in Mrs Weasely's eyes.

Colton Taylor, a fourteen-year-old Ravenclaw, who was bespectacled, sandy-haired Scottish boy who wore kilts and his mother, Candace, had dropped by. From what Hailey was told, Colton's mother was a dueling champion, who dueled for fun. She supposed that it made sense for Candace to be a part of the Order. Colton didn't know what was going on in the meetings, but he did help them clean as Ginny asked what Colton's best friend, Luna Lovegood, and what Neville, Colton's cousin, were doing. Apparently Neville celebrated his birthday and got some type of rare plant that his Great-Uncle Algie had gotten for him. Colton had been a victim of some prank box that spat out green dye, which ended up making his hair stick up. He found it hilarious and Hailey had seen Fred pocket the prank box.

Hailey was still having dreams about corridors and locked doors, which made her scar prickle. Despite the terrible sleep, she was having fun for the first time in the summer. As long as she was busy, she was happy. However, it abated, or whenever she stopped cleaning, or when she was lying in bed, the thought of the approaching Ministry hearing kept returning to her. She was feeling fearful over it, because she wondered what was going to happen to her if she was expelled, so she kept it to herself.

What didn't help was seeing Ron and Hermione, who seemed to whisper to each other and seemed to give her anxious looks at her. Sometimes she couldn't stop picturing a faceless Ministry official from snapping her wand in two and ordering her to back to the Dursleys'…but she wouldn't go back to them. She was determined on that. She would come back to Grimmauld Place and live with Sirius.

On Wednesday evening, Mrs Weasley had turned to Hailey and told her, "I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Hailey. I want you to brush your hair. A good first impression can work wonders."

Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny stopped talking and looked over at Hailey.

Hailey nodded and tried to keep eating, but her mouth seemed to become so dry, she couldn't chew. In an unconcerned tone, she asked Mrs Weasley, "How am I supposed to get there?"

"Arthur's taking you to work with him," said Mrs Weasley.

Hailey looked at Mr Weasley, who smiled at her from across the table and said, "You can wait in my office until it's time for the hearing."

Hailey looked at Sirius and Mrs Weasley said, "Professor Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea for Sirius to go with you, and I must say I—"

"Think he's _quite right_ ," finished Sirius through clenched teeth.

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips. Hailey was confused and asked, "When did Dumbledore tell you that?"

"He came last night, when you were in bed," responded Mr Weasely.

Hailey looked down too her plate feeling dejected. Dumbledore had been in the house last night, but he didn't come to see her, which made her feel worse. She muttered, "Oh."

* * *

A/N: Hailey thinking that if she got expelled Michael would end up dating Ginny and then Cho is a reference to the books about him dating them.


	7. The Ministry of Magic

It was half-past five the next morning, when Hailey abruptly woke up. She lay there, staring at the ceiling and thinking of the disciplinary hearing, which made her even more nervous. She got out of bed and noticed that Mrs Weasley had laid out the pink shirt that Mandy had gotten Hailey for Christmas and dark blue skinny jeans at the foot of her bed. She got dressed and went to the mirror to examine herself. The mirror made a strange snickering sound, like it laughed at her.

"I didn't ask you for your opinion," snapped Hailey at the mirror, grabbed the grey hoodie, and walked out of the room. She stepped out onto the landing and closed the door.

She walked down the steps, past Kreacher's ancestors and into the kitchen to see Mr and Mrs Weasely, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks sitting at the able, like they were waiting for her. All of them, except Mrs Weasley, were fully dressed. Mrs Weasely was wearing a quilted purple dressing gown and she left to her feet the moment Hailey walked in.

"Breakfast," Mrs Weasley said pulling out her wand and hurrying over to the fire.

"Morning, Hailey," yawned Tonks stuttering. She had blonde hair that was curly. "Sleep all right?"

"Yeah," said Hailey.

"I've been up all night," Tonks replied, yawning. "Come and sit down…" She pulled a chair out and knocked over the chair that was beside it.

"What do you want, Hailey?" called Mrs Weasely. "We have porridge, muffins, kippers, bacon and eggs, and toast."

"Just—just toast, thanks," said Hailey, still nervous over the hearing, and sat down, putting the grey jacket over the back of the chair.

Lupin looked at Hailey and then said to Tonks, "What were you saying about Scrimgeour?"

"Oh…yeah," said Tonks. "Well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions…"

Hailey felt slightly glad that she didn't have to join the conversation. Mrs Weasley placed a couple pieces of toast and marmalade in front of her. She tried to eat a piece of toast, but it seemed to dry. Mrs Weasley sat down next to Hailey and started fussing with the straps on her shirt and messing with her hair.

"…and I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow, I'm just too tired," finished Tonks, yawning hugely again.

"I'll cover for you," replied Mr Weasley. "I'm okay; I've got a report to finish anyway…"

Hailey looked at Mr Weasley to see that he was wearing pinstriped trousers and an old bomber jacket. He turned to look at Hailey and asked, "How are you feeling?" Hailey shrugged in response. "It'll all be over soon. In a few hours' time, you'll be cleared." Hailey nodded. "The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones's office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she's the one who'll be questioning you."

"Amelia Bones is okay, Hailey," said Tonks. "She's fair, she'll hear you out."

Hailey nodded still feeling unable to speak.

"Don't lose your temper," advised Sirius. "Be polite and stick to the facts."

Hailey nodded showing them that she had heard them.

"The law's on your side," added Lupin in a quiet tone. "Even underage wizards are allowed to use magic in life-threatening situations."

Something pulled on her hair and she turned her head to notice that Mrs Weasley was combing her hair with a wet comb. Mrs Weasley pressed hard on the top of Hailey's head. In a desperate tone, Mrs Weasley asked, "Doesn't it ever stay straight?"

"Yes, you have to do it very carefully," replied Hailey, somewhat sarcastically.

Mr Weasley looked at his watch and looked at Hailey. "I think we should go now. We'll be a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."

"Okay," said Hailey, dropping her toast and getting to her feet. She wiped her hands on a napkin and grabbed the jacket.

"You'll be all right, Hailey," said Tonks, patting her on the arm.

"Good luck," said Lupin with a small smile. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And if it's not," said Sirius in a grim tone, "I'll see to Amelia Bones for you…"

Hailey gave them all a weak smile and Mrs Weasley hugged her, saying, "We've all got our fingers cross."

"Right," replied Hailey, "Well…see you later then." She followed Mr Weasley up the stairs and nearly jumped when she heard Sirius's mother grunt in her sleep behind the curtain. Mr Weasley unbolted the door and they stepped out into a cold grey dawn.

Hailey put the jacket on and tried imagining it as Michael giving her a good-luck hug.

"Do you walk to work?" asked Hailey as they started walking around the square.

"No, I usually Apparate," stated Mr Weasley, "but since you can't, I think it's best that we arrive in a thoroughly non-magical fashion…makes for a better impression, given what you're being disciplined for…" He kept his hand inside his jacket as they walked and Hailey was sure he was keeping a tight hold on his wand.

They walked down some run-down looking streets that seemed almost deserted and when they arrived at a sad looking underground station, there were early-morning commuters.

"Simply fabulous," Mr Weasley, looking ecstatically at the automatic ticket machines, "Wonderfully ingenious." He looked like he was having trouble containing his enthusiasm.

Hailey pointed at a sign that was above the ticket machines, "They're out of order."

"Well, yes, but even so…" Mr Weasley said smiling at the ticket machines fondly.

Hailey bought them tickets at a sleepy looking guard, since Mr Weasley wasn't good at using Muggle money.

It took five minutes for the underground train to show up, before boarding it. The train rattled them off towards the centre of London. Hailey watched and counted as Mr Weasley looked anxious as he kept checking and re-checking the Underground Map. She counted one hundred times Mr Weasley looked at the map.

"Four stops, Hailey…" Mr Weasely said. "Three stops left now…two stops to go, Hailey…" Mr Weasley pointing it out wasn't making her feel less nervous and anxious.

The train stopped at the heart of London and they were swept out in the sea of business suit wearing men and briefcase carrying women. They went up the escalator and through the ticket barrier. When the stile ate the ticket, Mr Weasley was delighted at it. They emerged onto a broad street lined with imposing-looking buildings and an already full traffic.

"Where are we?" asked Mr Weasley looking blank.

Hailey felt panicked, wondering if they got off at the wrong station, even through Mr Weasley's continuously looking at the map.

"Ah, yes…" Mr Weasley said at last, "This way." He led Hailey down a side road. "Sorry, but I've never came by train, and it all looks rather different from a Muggle perspective. As a matter of fact, I've never even used the visitors' entrance before."

They kept walking and Hailey looked back to see that the buildings looked smaller and less imposing. They reached a street that had shabby-looking offices, a pub, and an overflowing skip.

 _That's it_? Hailey thought, looking around.

"Here we are," said Mr Weasley brightly, pointing an red telephone box. It was missing several panes of glass and had a background of a wall that was badly defaced. Mr Weasley opened the door on the telephone box, and said, "After you."

Hailey stepped inside and Mr Weasley stepped in beside her. Hailey was jammed against the telephone apparatus that hung in a crooked manner from the wall, as if a vandal hadtried ripping it off. Mr Weasley reached past Hailey for the receiver.

"I think it's out of order, too," Hailey said.

"No, no, I'm sure its fine," said Mr Weasely, holding the receiver above his head. He was squinting at the dial. "Let's see…six…" he dialed the number, "two…four…and another four…and another two…"

The dial whirred smoothly back into place and a female voice, from instead the telephone box, said, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er…" started Mr Weasley, sounding uncertain, like he couldn't be sure if he should talk into the receiver. He held the mouthpiece to his ear, "Arthur Weasely, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, here to escort Hailey Potter, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing…"

"Thank you," said the female voice, "Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and a rattle, and something slid out of the metal chute that returned coins came from. Hailey picked it up to see that it was a square silver badge that had: _Hailey Potter, Disciplinary Hearing_ on it. She pinned it to the front of her shirt as the voice spoke: "Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor shuddered and Hailey realized that they were sinking slowly into the ground. She was a little unsettled at watching the pavement rise past the glass windows of the telephone box until the darkness closed over their heads. All she could hear was a dull grinding noise as the telephone box made its way down through the earth. After a minute, a chink of golden light illuminated her feet and it widened, rising up her body, until it hit her in face. She had to blink to keep her eyes from watering.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice.

 _I'm going to get expelled and you wish me to have a pleasant day?_ Hailey thought bitterly.

The telephone box door opened and Mr Weasley stepped out followed by Hailey.

They were standing at one end of a very long and splendid hallway, which had a highly polished, dark wood floor. The peacock blue ceiling had golden symbols that moved and clanging, like it was an enormous notice board. The walls on each side were paneled with shiny, dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds, a witch or wizard would emerge from one of the left-hand fireplaces with a soft whoosh. On the right-hand side, in front of each fireplace, there was a short queue forming, waiting to leave.

There was a fountain halfway down the hall. In a circular pool, there was group of golden statues that was bigger than life-size. The tallest of them was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointed straight up in the air. There was a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf that was surrounding the wizard. The centaur, goblin, and house-elf was looking up at the wizard and witch in an adoring way. Jets of water flew from the witch's and wizard's wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears. The tinkling of the falling water could barely be heard over the sound of the pops and crack of the Apparators and the clatter of footsteps of glum-looking witches and wizards, who walked over to a set of golden gates that was at the far end of the hall.

"This way," said Mr Weasely, leading Hailey over to the group that was weaving between the Ministry workers. Some of the workers carried piles of parchment, some had battered looking briefcases, and there were others who were reading the _Daily Prophet_ as they walked.

They walked past the fountain and Hailey looked at it. There were silver Sickles and bronze Knuts at the bottom of the pool. There was a small smudged looking sign beside it that read:

 _All proceeds from the fountain of magical brethren will be given to St Mungo's Hopsital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_.

Hailey found herself desperately thinking, _If I'm not expelled, I'm going to put ten Galleons in that fountain_.

"Over here, Hailey," said Mr Weasley, and she stepped out of the sea of Ministry employees to where Mr Weasley was standing. There was a desk on the left where a sign said SECURITY hanging above it. There was a wizard wearing peacock-blue robes sitting at the desk. He looked up as they walked over and set his _Daily Prophet_ down.

"I'm escorting a visitor," stated Mr Weasley, gesturing at Hailey.

"Step over here," said the wizard in a bored voice.

Hailey walked closer to the wizard, who held up a long golden rod. It looked think and flexible, like a car aerial. The wizard passed it up and down Hailey's front and back.

"Wand," grunted the wizard at Hailey putting down the golden rod and held out his wand.

Hailey produced her wand and the wizard dropped it on what looked to be a set of scales, but it had one dish on it. It vibrated and a strip of parchment sped out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore the parchment off and read the writing on it. "Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use four years. That correct?"

"Yes," said Hailey, feeling nervous.

"I keep this," said the wizard as he impaled the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. "You get this back," he added, handing the wand back to Hailey.

"Thank you," the teen said.

"Hang on…" started the wizard slowly. He looked from the silver visitor's badge that Hailey had pinned to her chest and to her forehead.

"Thank you, Eric," stated Mr Weasely firmly, and grabbed the lone girl's elbow, steering her away from the desk. He led her into the stream of witches and wizards that were walking through the golden gates.

Hailey was led through the gates into a smaller hallway, where at least twenty lifts stood behind the wrought golden grilles. The two jointed the crowd around on left. There was a big bearded wizard nearby, who was holding a large cardboard box that was emitting rasping noises.

"All right, Arthur?" asked the wizard, nodding at Mr Weasley.

"What do you got there, Bob?" asked Mr Weasley, looking at the box.

"We're not sure," said the wizard. "We thought it was bog-standard chicken until it started breathing fire. Looks like a serious breach of the Ban on Experimental Breeding to me."

There was a great jangling and clattering as a lift descended in front of them and the golden grille slid back. Hailey and Mr Weasley stepped into the lift with the rest of the crowd. Hailey found herself pushed against the back wall and noticed how several witches and wizards looked at her curiously. Hailey looked at her boots to avoid looking at anyone and played with her hair so they wouldn't see her scar and laugh at her or step away from her since the _Daily Prophet_ tried to make her out to be an attention seeking madwoman.

The grilles slide shut with a loud crashing sound and the lift slowly moved upward, the chains rattling, while the same female voice from the telephone box said, "Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office."

The lift doors opened and Hailey saw an untidy-looking corridor that had various lopsided posters of Quidditch teams tacked on the wall. One wizard, who was carrying an armful of broomsticks, dislodged himself with great difficulty and walked down the corridor. The doors close and the lift went upward again. The woman announced: "Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Centre."

The lift doors opened and a group of five left the lift and several paper aeroplanes swooped into the lift. Hailey looked up at them as they flapped idly around her head. The were a pale violet colour and she could see **MINISTRY OF MAGIC** stamped on the edge of the wings.

"Just inter-department memos," Mr Weasley muttered to Hailey. "We used to use owls, but the mess was unbelievable…droppings all over the desks…"

Hailey nodded as they clattered upwards again as the memos flapped around the lamp that was swaying from the ceiling of the lift.

It was a little eerie being in there and hearing the jingling of the chains.

"Level Five, Department of International Magical Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats," announced the voice.

The doors opened and two memos flew out. A few more of the witches and wizards left and several more memos flew it, making the lamp flicker and flash overhead as the memos flew around it.

"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau."

"'Scuse,'" said Bob carrying the fire-breathing chicken out of the lift, being followed by a little flock of memos. The doors clanged shut yet again.

"Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, including the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."

Everybody, except Mr Weasley, Hailey, and witch with a floor-length piece of parchment, was left on the lift. The remaining memos flew around the lamp as the lift continued upward.

"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services," announced the voice.

"This is us, Hailey." said Mr Weasley and they followed the witch out of the lift out onto a corridor that was lined with doors. "My office is on the other side of the floor."

They walked past a window that had sunlight streaming through. Hailey frowned, "Mr Weasley, aren't we underground?"

"Yes, we are," said Mr Weasley. "Those are enchanted windows. Magical Maintenance will decide what weather we'll get every day. We once had two months of hurricanes the last time they wanted a pay raise…" After a few more minutes of walking, Mr Weasley said, "Just round here, Hailey."

They turned a corner and walked through two heavy oak doors. They walked in a cluttered open area that was divided into cubicles, which were buzzing with talk and laughter. Memos were flying around like miniature rockets. On the nearest cubicle a sign read: **AUROR HEADQUARTERS**.

Hailey looked in the doorways as they walked by. The Aurors had covered their cubicle walls with everything from pictures of wanted wizards and photographs of their family, to posters of their favourite Quidditch teams and articles from the _Daily Prophet_. There was a man, wearing scarlet robes, had a ponytail longer than Bill's, was sitting with his boots up on his desk. He was dictating a report to his quill. A little further along was a witch that had a patch over one eye, talking over the top of her cubicle wall to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Morning, Weasley," said Kingsley as they walked nearer. "I've been wanting a word with you, have you got a second?"

"Yes, if it really is a second," said Mr Weasley, "I'm in a hurry."

They were speaking as if they didn't know each other. Hailey figured it would be better to pretend to not know Kingsley either.

They followed Kingsley along the row and into the very last cubicle.

Blinking down at them from every direction was Sirius's face. There were newspaper cuttings and old photographs—even the one from Sirius being the best man at the Potters' wedding—papered to the walls. The only thing that didn't have Sirius's face was a map of the world that had glowing little red pins in it.

"Here," said Kingsley, shoving a sheaf of parchment in his hand. "I need as much information as possible on flying Muggle vehicles sighted in the last twelve months. We've received information that Black might still be using his old motorcycle."

Kingsley winked at Hailey and whispered something about a magazine to Mr Weasley. In a normal tone, Kingsley said, "And don't take too long, Weasely, the delay on that firelags report held our investigation up for a month."

"If you had read my report you would know that the term is 'firearms,'" replied Mr Weasley. "And I'm afraid you'll have to wait for information on motorcycles; we're extremely busy at the moment." He whispered, "If you can get away before seven, Molly's making meatballs."

Mr Weasley motioned for Hailey to follow and led her out of the cubicle, through a second set oak doors, into another passage, turned left, marched along another corridor, turned right into a dimly lit and a shabby looking corridor. They finally reached a dead end, where a door on the left was slightly open, revealing a broom cupboard. A door on the right had a tarnished brass plaque that had: **MISUSE OF MUGGLE** **ARTIFACTS** on it.

The dingy office seemed to be slightly smaller than the broom cupboard. Two desks were crammed inside it, and overflowing filing cabinets that lined the walls, barely giving room to move around. The little wall space that was left had posters of cars, one that had a dismantled engine, two illustration of postboxes that was probably cut of Muggle children's books, and a diagram showing how to wire a plug.

There was an overflowing in-tray on Mr Weasley's desk. On top of that was an old toast that was hiccoughing in an unhappy way and a pair of leather gloves that were twiddling their thumbs. There was a photograph of the Weasley family by the in-tray and Hailey noticed the Percy appeared to have walked out of it.

"We don't have a window," said Mr Weasley in an apologetic tone.

"It's okay," replied Hailey.

Mr Weasley took off the bomber jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. "They don't seem to think that we need one." He pointed at the chair in the desk next to his, "Have a seat, Hailey. It doesn't look as if Perkins is in yet."

Hailey squeezed herself into the chair that was behind Perkins's desk as Mr Weasley riffled through the sheaf of parchment that Kingsley had given him. He grinned as he took out a copy of a magazine entitled _The Quibbler_ , "Ah, yes," He flicked through it. "Yes, he's right, I'm sure Sirius will find that very amusing—"

Hailey heard about _The Quibbler_ , sort of. She heard that it was basically rubbish, but Colton and Luna read it.

"Oh dear, what's this now?" Mr Weasley asked as a memo flew in through the open door. It stopped on top of the hiccoughing toast. Mr Weasley unfolded it and read it aloud, "' _Third regurgitating public toilet reported in Bethnal Green, kindly investigate immediately_.' This is getting ridiculous…"

Hailey asked, "Regurgitating toilets?"

"Anti-Muggle pranksters," said Mr Weasley frowning. "We had two last week, one in Wimbledon, one in Elephant and Castle. Muggles are pulling the flush and instead of everything disappearing—well, you can imagine. The poor things keep calling in those—pumbles, I think they're called—you know the ones who mend pipes and things."

Hailey corrected, "Plumbers."

"Yes, that," said Mr Weasley, "Of course they're flummoxed. I only hope we can catch whoever's doing it."

"So, which Department fixes the toilets?" asked Hailey.

"It'll be Magical Law Enforcement Patrol—" Mr Weasley started and a stooped, timid-looking old wizard that had fluffy white hair entered the room. He was panting and Mr Weasley said, "Ah, Hailey, this is Perkins."

"Hi," Hailey said.

Perkins sounded desperate as he said, "Oh, Arthur! Thank goodness, I didn't know what to do for the best, whether to wait here for you or not. I've just sent an owl to your home but you've obviously missed it—an urgent message came ten minutes ago—"

"I know about the regurgitating toilet," said Mr Weasely.

"No, no, it's not the toilet, it's the Potter girl's hearing—they've changed the time and venue—it starts at eight o'clock now and it's down in old Courtroom Ten—"

"Down in old—but they told me—" Mr Weasley started, looking at his watch and yelped, "Merlin's beard—" He jumped from his chair, "Quick, Hailey, we should've been there five minutes ago!"

Mr Weasley left the office at a run, Hailey close on his heels.

Hailey wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that it was Fudge's doing. He was so determined to make her look bad because he refused to believe that Voldemort behind, that it wouldn't be surprising that he would get her expelled.

They ran past the Auror cubicles, and stopped at the lifts. Mr Weasley repeatedly pressed the lift button, which took about a minute for it to appear. They got in and hurried inside. At every stop, Mr Weasley cursed furiously and pressed the number nine button.

Mr Weasley had explained to Hailey the courtrooms hadn't been used in years and couldn't figure out why and then muttered 'no'. A witch carrying a smoking goblet entered the lift and Mr Weasley didn't elaborate on it.

They stopped at the Atrium and a wizard walked in, talked to Mr Weasley, but Hailey didn't listen, as she was busy seething at Fudge for trying to get her expelled.

They ended up on the Department of Mysteries floor and they hurried out of the lift and down a corridor. Hailey didn't focus on the walls as they ran down the corridor and Mr Weasely had to drag her to the left and down a flight of steps.

"…why they're doing it down there…" Mr Weasley panted and Hailey figured it was a good question. Unless they plan on throwing her in Azkaban if she was expelled. Hailey wouldn't put it past Fudge for doing just that.

They reached the bottom of the steps and ran along another corridor, and they finally made it to a grimy dark door that had a giant iron lock. Mr Weasley slumped against the wall and thumbed at the door as he grabbed his ribs. "Go on, get in there."

Hailey looked at him and nodded, figuring that he wasn''t allowed in there. She turned to the door.

"Good luck!" Mr Weasley called.

Hailey's heart was beating rapidly as she turned the iron door handle and walked inside the courtroom.


	8. The Hearing

Hailey walked in and saw that the dark stone walls that were dimly lit by torches. There were empty benches rising on either side of her, but in the highest benches of all was many shadowy figures. She had seen the dungeon before, back when she had gone inside Dumbledore's Pensieve. It was the dungeon that the Lestranges and Barty Crouch junior had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.

"You're late," said a cold male voice from across the courtroom.

"Sorry," replied Hailey. _Yeah, no thanks to you_ , she mentally added. "I—I didn't know that the time had changed."

"That is not the Wizengamot's fault," said the voice. "An owl was sent to you this morning. Take your seat."

 _Funny, I don't remember ever receiving it this morning_ , thought Hailey as she walked to the center of the room where a chair that had chains covering the arms. She sat down, the chains clinked together but didn't bind her, like she had seen in the Pensieve.

She looked up at the benches to see about fifty witches and wizards, wearing plum-coloured robes that had a elaborately worked silver 'W' on the left hand side of the chest. They were all staring down at her.

In the middle of the front row was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. He was a portly man who often had a lime-green bowler hat, though he didn't have it. He wasn't smiling at her in that fatherly way like he once had. A witch with a broad, square-jaw and very short grey hair sat on Fudge's left. On Fudge's right was another witch, but she sat so far back on the bench that her face was in shadow.

"Very well," said Fudge. "The accused being present—finally—"

 _Not my fault you had to change to the time_ , Hailey thought.

"Are you ready?" continued Fudge.

Hailey opened her mouth to respond, but an familiar, eager sounding voice said, "Yes, sir."

Hailey knew that voice well. It was Ron's brother, Percy, who had answered. He was at the very end of the front bench.

Hailey didn't bother looking at him.

"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," said Fudge, "into offences committed under the Decree fore Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Hailey Jamie Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley—"

"Witness for the defence, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," added a quiet voice from behind Hailey. She turned her head to look at the Headmaster looking calm as he walked up, looking serene. He wore long midnight-blue robes and half-moon spectacles. His long silver beard and hair was gleaming in the torchlight. He stood by Hailey and looked up at Fudge.

The Wizengamot members were muttering, focusing on Dumbledore. Some looked annoyed and others looked slightly frightened. Two witches in the back row raised their hands and waved at him.

Hailey felt hopeful and looked at Fudge, who seemed flustered and disconcerted. Fudge said, "Ah, Dumbledore. Yes, you—er—got our—er—message that the time and—er—place of the hearing had been changed, then?"

"I must have missed it," said Dumbledore in a cheerful tone. "However, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done."

Fudge spluttered, "Yes—well—I suppose we'll need another chair—I—Weasley, could you—?"

"Not to worry, not to worry," said Dumbledore in a pleasant tone. He gave his wand a little flick and conjured a squashy armchair right next to Hailey. Dumbledore sat down, put the tips of his fingers together, and looked at Fudge over his fingers.

The Wizengamot was still muttering and fidgeting in a restless manner.

"Yes," said Fudge, making the Wizengamot settle down. He looked over his notes, "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."

 _Get on with it,_ Hailey thought.

Fudge took a piece of parchment and read, "The charges against the accused are as follows: She knowingly, deliberately, and in full awareness of the illegality of her actions, having a received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy."

Fudge glared at Hailey over the top of the parchment. "You are Hailey Jamie Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?"

"Yes," replied Hailey.

"You received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?" questioned Fudge.

Hailey started, "Yes, but—"

"And yet you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?" interrupted Fudge.

"Yes," replied Hailey, "but—"

"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside of school while you are under the age of seventeen?" questioned Fudge.

Hailey started to explain, "Yes, but—"

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?" asked Fudge.

Again Hailey started, "Yes, but—"

"Fully away that you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?" interrupted Fudge.

"Yes," said Hailey getting angry, "but I only used it because we were—"

"You produced a fully-fledge Patronus?" interrupted the witch with the monocle. She had a surprisingly booming voice.

"Yes," started Hailey, growing a little exasperated, "because—"

"A corporeal Patronus?" asked the witch.

"Yes, it's a doe. It's always been a doe." Hailey replied feeling a little weary.

"Always?" boomed Madam Bones. "You have produced a Patronus before now?"

"Yes," replied Hailey. "I've been doing it for a over a year now."

"And you're fifteen-years-old?" asked Madam Bones.

Hailey nodded, "Yes, and—"

"You learned this at school?" asked Madam Bones.

"Yes." explained Hailey, "Professor Lupin taught me in the my third year, because of the—"

"Impressive," interrupted Madam Bones, staring down at her, "a true Patronus at her age…very impressive indeed."

Some witches and wizards around Madam Bones were muttering again; a few nodded, but others were frowning and shaking their heads.

"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Fudge in an impatient voice. "In fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the girl did it in plain view of a Muggle!"

Those that were frowning, murmured in agreement, but the sight of Percy giving a little nod forced Hailey into speaking.

"I did it because of the dementors!" she said loudly, desperate to actually get to the cause of the hearing. She expected muttering, not a dense silence.

It took a moment but Madam Bones broke the silence by raising her thick eyebrows, "Dementors?" It looked like her monocle was going to fall off. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there were two dementors down that alleyway and they went for me and my cousin!" Hailey explained loudly. Maybe them knowing that Dudley was her cousin, would help.

"Ah," said Fudge, smirking in an unpleasant manner. He looked around the Wizengamot as if inviting them to share the joke. "Yes, yes, I thought we'd be hearing something like this."

Madam Bones sounded surprised as she she said, "Dementors in Little Whinging?" I don't understand—"

"Don't you, Amelia?" asked Fudge, smirking. "Let me explain. She's been thinking it through and decided dementors would make a very nice little cover story, very nice indeed. Muggles can't see dementors, can they? Highly convenient, highly convenient…so it's just your word and no witness…"

There was an outbreak of muttering from the court and loudly, Hailey said, "I'm not lying! There were two of them, coming from opposite ends of the alley, everything went dark and cold, and my cousin felt them and ran away from them—"

"Enough, enough!" shouted Fudge, looking furious. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story—"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and the Wizengamot fell silent. "We do, in fact, have a witness to the presence of dementors in that alleyway," said Dumbledore, "other than Dudley Dursley, I mean."

Fudge's face seemed to go slack and stared down at Dumbledore for a moment or two. He said, "We haven't got time to listen to more tarradiddles, I'm afraid, Dumbledore. I want this dealt with quickly—"

"I may be wrong, but I am sure that under the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case?" said Dumbledore in a pleasant tone. He addressed the witch in the monocle, "Isn't that the policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Bones?"

"True," said Madam Bones, "Perfectly true."

"Oh, very well, very well," snapped Fudge, "Where is this person?"

"I brought her with me," said Dumbledore. "She's just outside the door. Should I—?"

"No—Weasley, you go," Fudge ordered. Hailey focused on her boots as she heard Percy run down the stone steps.

A moment later, it sounded like Percy returned. Hailey looked up to see Mrs Figg, who looked scared and battier than ever. She wore her carpet slippers and Hailey wished that she didn't.

Dumbledore stood up and gave Mrs Figg the chair, conjuring a second chair for himself.

"Full name?" asked Fudge loudly after Mrs Figg sat on the edge of her seat.

"Arabella Doreen Figg," responded Mrs Figg in a shaky voice.

"And who exactly are you?" asked Fudge in a bored and lofty voice.

Mrs Figg answered, "I'm a resident of Little Whinging, close to where Hailey Potter lives."

"We have no record of any witch or wizard living in Little Whinging, other than Hailey Potter," answered Madam Bones at once. "That situation has always been closely monitored, given…given past events."

"I'm a Squib, so you wouldn't have me registered, would you?" said Mrs Figg.

"A Squib, eh?" asked Fudge, looking at Mrs Figg with distrust. "We'll be checking that. You'll leave details of your parentage with my assistant, Weasley. Incidentally, can Squibs see dementors?" he looked left and right along the bench.

"Yes, we can!" replied Mrs Figg.

Fudge looked at her, eyebrows raised, "Very well. What is your story?"

"I had gone out to buy cat food from the corner shop at the end of Wisteria Walk, around about nine o'clock, on the evening of the second of August," explained Mrs Figg. "It was when I heard a disturbance down the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. On approaching the mouth of the alleyway I saw dementors running—"

"Running?" repeated Madam Bones sharply and Hailey winced.

 _Strike one_ , Hailey thought.

"Dementors don't run, they glide," said Madam Bones.

"That's what I meant to say," said Mrs Figg quickly. Her cheeks were turning pink, "Gliding along the alley towards two children."

"What did they look like?" asked Madam Bones.

Mrs Figg said, "Well, one was a very large boy and the other one was one rather skinny girl—"

"No, no," interrupted Madam Bones. "The dementors…describe them."

"Oh," said Mrs Figg. "They were big. Big and wearing cloaks."

 _Strike two_ , thought Hailey, feeling sick. It sounded as if Mrs Figg saw a picture of a dementor. She knew that pictures couldn't convey the truth of what dementors were like. Hailey looked at her boots.

"'Big and wearing cloaks,'" repeated Madam Bones in a cold tone and Fudge snorted derisively.

Hailey gripped the chains on the chair arms, tightly, resisting the urge to drop-kick Fudge in his stupid smug looking face.

"I see," Madam Bones continued, "Anything else."

"Yes," said Mrs Figg. "I felt them. Everything went cold, and this was a very warm summer's night, mark you. And I felt…as though all happiness had gone from the world…and I remembered…dreadful things…" Her voice shook and died.

Madam Bones's eyes widened at that and she asked, "What did the dementors do?"

"They went for the children," replied Mrs Figg sounding more confident. "The boy had fallen down. Hailey was backing away, trying to repel the dementor. She tried twice and produced only silver vapor. On the third attempt, she produced a Patronus, which charged down the first dementor, and then chased the second one away from her cousin. And that…that is what happened."

Madam Bones stared at Mrs Figg in silence.

Fudge was busy playing with his parchment. He raised his eyes and in an aggressive tone, said, "That's what you saw, is it?"

"That is what happened," Mrs Figg stated.

"Very well," said Fudge, with a sigh. "You may go."

Mrs Figg got up and shuffled off. Hailey heard the door close behind Mrs Figg.

"Not a very convincing witness, was she?" asked Fudge.

"Oh, I don't know," replied Madam Bones. "She certainly described the effects of a dementor attack very accurately. And I can't imagine why she would say they were there, if they weren't."

"But dementors wandering into a Muggle suburb and just _happening_ to come across a witch?" snorted Fudge. "The odds on that must be very, very long. Even Bagman wouldn't have bet—"

"Oh, I don't think any of us believe the dementors were there by coincidence," said Dumbledore.

It made everyone fall silent.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Fudge nastily.

"It means that I think they were ordered there," replied Dumbledore.

"I think we might have a record of it, if someone had ordered a pair of dementors to go strolling through Little Whinging!" snapped Fudge.

"Not if the dementors are taking orders from someone other than the Ministry of Magic these days," replied Dumbledore in a calm voice. "I have already given you my views on this matter, Cornelius."

"Yes, you have," replied Fudge in a cold tone. "I have no reason to believe that your views are anything other than bilge, Dumbledore. The dementors remain in place in Azkaban and are doing everything we ask them to."

"Then we must ask ourselves why somebody within the Ministry ordered a pair of dementors into that alleyway on the second of August," replied Dumbledore in a quiet voice. Silence followed after that statement.

The witch on the right leaned forward so Hailey saw her. She looked like a grandmother. She had short light brown hair and she wore pink robes.

"The Chair recognises Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," stated Fudge.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," said Umbridge, with a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice. "So silly of me, but it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on this girl!" She laughed, which made the hairs on the back of Hailey's neck stand up. A few Wizengamot members laughed with her. It was obvious that none of them were really amused.

"If it is true that the dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two dementors attacked Hailey and her cousin a week ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks," said Dumbledore in a polite tone. "Of course, these particular dementors may have been outside Ministry control—"

"There are no dementors outside Ministry control!" snapped Fude, his face red.

Dumbledore bowed his head a little. "Then undoubtedly the Ministry will be making a full inquiry into why two dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization."

"It is not for you to decide what the Ministry of Magic does or does not do, Dumbledore!" snarled Fudge again. He was a shade of magenta that Hailey was sure her uncle would've been proud of.

"Of course it isn't," said Dumbledore in a mild tone. "I was merely expressing my confidence that this matter will not go uninvestigated." He gave a brief look at Madam Bones, who readjusted her monocle. She was frowning slightly as she stared at him.

"I would remind everybody that the behaviour of these dementors, if indeed they are not figments of this girl's imagination, is not the subject of this hearing!" yelled Fudge. "We are here to examine Hailey Potter's offences under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery!"

"Of course we are," said Dumbledore, "but the presence of dementors in that alleyway is highly relevant. Clause Seven of the Decree states that magic may not be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances, and as those exceptional circumstances include situations which threaten the life of the wizard or witch themselves, or any witches, wizards, or Muggles present at the time of the—"

"We are familiar with Clause Seven, thank you very much!" snarled Fudge.

"Of course are you are," replied Dumbledore. "Then we are in agreement that Hailey's use of the Patronus Charm in these circumstances falls precisely into the category of exceptional circumstance the clause describes?"

Fudge said, "If there were dementors, which I doubt."

"You have heard it from an eyewitness," replied Dumbledore. "If you still doubt her truthfulness, call her back, question her again. I am sure she would not object."

"I—that—not—" stuttered Fudge, fiddling with the parchment. "It's—I want this over with today, Dumbledore!"

 _Why? Got more names to smear?_ thought Hailey.

"But naturally, you would not care how many times you listened to a witness's statement, if the alternative was a serious miscarriage of justice," stated Dumbledore.

"Serious miscarriage, my hat!" shouted Fudge. "Have you ever bothered to totle up the number of cock-and-bull stories that this girl had told, Dumbledore, while trying to cover up her flagrant misuse of magic out of school? I suppose you've forgotten the Hover Charm she used three years ago—"

"A house-elf used the Hover Charm!" said Hailey loudly.

" _You see_?" roared Fudge, gesturing at Hailey. "A house-elf! In a Muggle house! I ask you—"

"The house-elf in question is currently in the employ of Hogwarts School," replied Dumbledore. "I can summon him here in an instant to give evidence if you wish."

"I—not—I haven't got time to listen to house-elves!" snarled Fudge. "Anyway, that's not the only—she blew up her aunt, for God's sake!" He was shouting and banging his fist on the judge's bench. He upturned a bottle of ink.

"And you very kindly did not press charges on that occasion, accepting, I presume, that even the best wizards cannot always control their emotions," replied Dumbledore in a calm tone.

Fudge was trying to scrub the ink off of his notes, "And I haven't even started on what she gets up to at school—"

"The Ministry has no authority to punish Hogwarts students for misdemeanours at school," Dumbledore said. "Hailey's behaviour there is no relevant to this hearing." His words had a hint of coldness to them.

"Not our business to what she does at school, eh?" snapped Fudge, "You think so?"

"The Ministry does not have the power to expel Hogwarts students, Cornelius," explained Dumbledore. "As I reminded you on the night of the second of August. Nor does it have the right to confiscated wands until charges have been successfully proven, again, as I reminded you on the night of the second of August, in you admirable haste to ensure that the law is upheld, you appeared, inadvertently I am sure, to have overlooked a few laws yourself."

"Laws can be changes," replied Fudge savagely.

"Of course they can," replied Dumbledore, tilting his head. "And you certainly seem to be making many changes, Corelius. Why, in the few short weeks since I was asked to leave the Wizengamot, it has already become the practice to hold a full criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of underage magic!"

Some wizards looked like they shifted. Fudge had turned a slightly deeper shade of puce. The witch on the right gazed down at Dumbledore in an expressionless way.

"As far as I am aware," Dumbledore continued, "there is no law yet in place that says this court's job is to punish Hailey for every bit of magic she has ever performed. She has been charged with a specific offence and she has presented her defence. All she and I can do now is to await your verdict." He put his fingertips together again.

Fudge glared at the headmaster, obviously furious. Hailey looked at the benches to see the Wizengamot were having urgent, whispered conversations.

Hailey looked at her feet, her heart beating rapidly. She expected the hearing to last longer and she was sure that she hadn't made a good impression. She didn't even say much. She wanted to explain fully about that night, but she didn't want to look at Fudge.

That man seemed like he was trying his hardest to get her expelled and was furious when his examples had been overturned by explanations.

The whispering stopped and she glared at her boots. She couldn't get over the fact that Fudge wanted her to be expelled so badly.

"Those in favour of clearing the witness of all charges?" asked Madam Bones.

Hailey looked up to see that there was more than half of the Wizengamot had their hands in the air.

Madam Bones then said, "And those in favour of conviction?"

Fudge raised his hand and Hailey nearly rolled her eyes at that. Of course he was. Half a dozen others, including the witch on Fudge's right raised their hands.

Fudge looked around them and made a face, like he was containing his rage. He lowered his hand and took a few deep breaths. In a voice that was oddly distorted, he said, "Very well, very well…cleared of all charges."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. He got to his feet, pulled out his wand, and made the two chairs vanish. "Well, I must be getting along. Good day to you all." Without looking at Hailey, he strode out of the dungeon.

* * *

A/N: I decided to settle on Jamie for Hailey's middle name, because I thought that James needed a bit of love, too.


	9. The Woes of Mrs Weasley

After leaving the dungeon and having an unpleasant encounter with Lucius Malfoy who had been there to probably bribe Cornelius Fudge, Hailey had stopped at the fountain and dumped the entire contents of her money pouch in it before before they headed back to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place to tell Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Mrs Weasley, and Ginny about the hearing. She hoped that Michael's mother, who worked at St Mungo's, appreciated the donation.

"I knew it!" Ron yelled, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you," replied Hermione, "There wasn't a case against you."

Mrs Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, while Fred, George, and Ginny singing some kind of chant that went: " _She got off, she got off, she got off_ —" with an accompanying war dance.

Mr Weasley looked at his kids and shouted, "That's enough! Settle down!" He was smiling and he looked at Sirius, "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry—"

"What?" asked Sirius sharply.

Fred, George, and Ginny continued chanting, " _She got off, she got off, she got off—_ "

"Be quiet you three!" ordered Mr Weasley. He turned back to Sirius, "Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on Level Nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely," replied Sirius. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better get going because there's a vomiting toilet that's waiting for me in Bethnal Green," Mr Weasley said. He looked at his wife, "Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner—"

Fred, George, and Ginny were still chanting, " _She got off, she got off, she got off—_ "

"That's enough you three!" snapped Mrs Weasely as Mr Weasely left the kitchen.

Hailey cringed a little, growing a little annoyed at the chanting. It was funny at first, but then it started wearing a little thin.

Mrs Weasely turned to Hailey. "Hailey, dear, come and sit down. Have some lunch since you hardly ate breakfast."

Hailey sat down while Ron and Hermione sat opposite of her. The two Gryffindors were looking far happier than they had since she had first arrived at Grimmauld Place. Hailey still had to write to Michael and Mandy about the outcome of the hearing and her thoughts on Fudge trying to expel her; which she would do after lunch.

The house seemed to become warmer and welcoming, now that the hearing was off the horizon. Kreacher poke his head into the kitchen to see what was causing all the noise and Hailey noticed that the house-elf didn't seem as ugly as before.

"'Course, once Dumbledore turned up on your side, there's no way that they were going to convict you," said Ron happily. He was putting great mounds of mashed potato on to everyone's plates.

"Yeah," said Hailey. "He made a convincing case for me." Her scar burned and she clapped a hand to it.

Hermione looked alarmed, "What's up?"

"Scar," Hailey muttered, "It's nothing since it happens all the time now."

Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, and Sirius didn't seem to notice as they got food and were gloating over the near expulsion. Fred, George, and Ginny were still singing.

Hermione looked anxious and Ron happily said, "I reckon that Dumbledore will turn up in the evening, to celebrate with us."

"I don't think he'll be able to, Ron," said Mrs Weasley setting a huge plate of roast chicken in front of Hailey. "He's really very busy at the moment."

Fred, George, and Ginny belted out, " _She got off, she got off, she got off_ —"

" _Shut up_!" roared Mrs Weasely at them.

 _Yes, please, thank you,_ Hailey thought.

* * *

After lunch, Hailey hurriedly wrote on two pieces of parchment: _I'm not expelled! I think Fudge wanted me to lose._ She went to Ron's room where Hedwig and Pigwidgeon were at. She walked in to see Fred and George tying two letters on Pig's legs. She frowned at them, "What are you two doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" asked George.

Hailey explained, "I was just sending Michael—"

"A love letter?" asked Fred. George sent Pig out a window as Fred hurried over, grabbing the two pieces of parchment.

"Hey!" Hailey reached for it, as Fred unfolded one.

Fred pretended to read, " _Dear Michael_ —"

Hailey felt her face heat up as she made a mad dash for the parchment, but the seventeen-year-old ran out of the way.

Fred pretended to read some mushy stuff about brown eyes, that made the twins do a mock, "Aww," as they looked at each other.

Hailey managed to rip the parchment out of Fred's hands and proceeded to tie the two pieces of parchment to Hedwig's leg and said a little to harshly than she anticipated. "Send these to Mandy and Michael." Hedwig flew out the window.

"Come on, Hailey, lighten up," said Fred, chuckling. "It was just a joke."

Hailey nodded, "I know."

"Come on. Ginny will hex us to hell and back if we ever did something like that to her," George said. Hailey looked at them. "You're like our easier to pick-on little sister."

Hailey frowned at that, "Thanks?"

* * *

For the next few days, Hailey noticed that Sirius seemed to be sulking, despite being excited that she wasn't expelled. Sirius seemed to talk less to everyone and spent a lot of time spending time with Buckbeak in his mother's room.

When Hailey pointed it out to Hermione and Ron as they scrubbed out a moldy cupboard on the third floor, Hermione had sounded stern as she said, "Don't you go feeling guilty! You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he's being selfish."

"That's bit harsh, Hermione," stated Ron as he attempted to pry off a bit of mold that was attached to his finger. "You wouldn't want to be stuck inside this house without any company."

"He'll have company!" said Hermione. "It's Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn't it? He just got his hopes up that Hailey would be coming to live here with him."

"I don't think that's true," said Hailey, wringing out a cloth. "He wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked him if I could."

"He didn't want to get his own hopes up even more," replied Hermione. "And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together."

Hailey had to admit that it did make a lot of sense.

"Come off it!" Ron said and looked at Hailey.

Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself." To Hailey, she said, "But I sometimes think that Ron's mum is right about Sirius getting confused about whether you're you or your father, Hailey."

"So, you think that he happens to be a bit a touched in the head?" asked Hailey, feeling slightly insulted on her godfather's behalf.

"No, I just think that he's been very lonely for a long time," said Hermione simply.

Mr Weasley walked in the bedroom. "Still not finished?" She looked in the cupboard.

"I thought you might be here to tell us to have a break!" said Ron sounding bitter. "D'you know how much mold that we've gotten rid of since we've been here?"

"You were so keen to help the Order," said Mrs Weasley.

 _I don't think he meant help the Order by clea ning,_ thought Hailey.

"You can do your bit making Headquarters fit to live in," finished Mrs Weasley.

"I feel like a house-elf," Ron grumbled.

"Well, now you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you'll be a bit more active in S.P.E.W.!" said Hermione as Mrs Weasley left. "You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time—we could do a sponsored scrub of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms, all proceeds to S.P.E.W., it would raise awareness as well as funds—"

"I'll sponsor you to shut up about spew," Ron muttered to Hailey, sounding agitated.

* * *

The end of the holidays was approaching and Hailey imagined going back to Hogwarts. She couldn't wait to see Hagrid, Mandy, and Michael again. She couldn't wait to play Quidditch, or walk across the vegetable patches to the Herbology greenhouses. It would differently be great to get away from the dusty, musty house, with half of the cupboard bolted shut and Kreacher muttering insults at everyone from the shadows as they passed. Hailey didn't dare tell Sirius about Kreacher.

In fact, living at the Headquarters wasn't nearly as interesting or exciting as she thought it would before actually living there. It was fun for a while, getting away from the Dursleys was relieving. Even though members of the Order came and went regularly, sometimes staying for meals and sometimes saying only for a few minutes of whispered conversations. Mrs Weasley had made sure that Hailey, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys didn't hear anything, especially through Extendable Ears. Nobody seemed to feel that she needed to know more information, other the information she had gotten on the first night of her arrival.

On the very last day of the holidays, while Hailey was sweeping up Hedwig's owl droppings, Ron entered his room carrying some envelopes.

"Booklists have arrived," Ron said, throwing one of the envelopes to Hailey. "About time, I thought they'd forgotten, since they usually come much earlier than this…" He threw another envelope to Hailey. "Here, these ones are from Michael and Mandy."

Hailey abandoned the droppings to open the letter from Michael. She had written to her two Ravenclaw friends about how she was getting bored two days ago, saying that it was mostly cleaning where she was at.

Michael's response was about him still trying to figure out what the _Daily Prophet_ would've said if Hailey had been expelled and a response that he would get tired of cleaning all the time and just hide out somewhere.

She opened Mandy's letter to see that she was saying she was glad she was for not going, because she didn't want to spend her entire summer cleaning.

Hailey opened the school letter, which had two pieces of parchment; one was the reminded that term started on the first of September; and the other was telling her which books she needed for the coming year.

"Only two new books," Hailey said, looking at her list. " _The Standard Book Spells, Grade 5_ by Miranda Goshawk and _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard."

 _Crack_

Fred and George Apparated right beside Hailey, who was used to it.

"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book," said Fred.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," said George.

"And about time, too," said Fred.

"What d'you mean by that?" asked Hailey.

"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back," Fred told Hailey, "and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"It's not a surprise, when you look at what happened to the last four," said George

"One was sacked, one's dead, one's memory has been removed, and one was locked in his own trunk for nine months," said Hailey. "Yeah, I see why he would have trouble finding a new teacher."

"What's up with you, Ron?" asked Fred.

Hailey turned to see Ron gaping at his letter from Hogwrts.

"What's the matter?" asked Fred sounding impatient. He went to Ron and looked over Ron's shoulder. Fred's mouth opened and he looked incredulous. "Prefect?" he repeated, " _Prefect_?"

George ran forward and grabbed the other envelope from Ron's hand. He turned it upside and something scarlet and gold fall into George's palm. In a quiet voice, George said, "no way."

"There's been a mistake," said Fred. He grabbed the letter from Ron and held it up to the light, like he was checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect."

The Weasley looked at Hailey.

"Did you get one?" asked Fred.

Hailey shook her head.

"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" said George. To Fred he said, "I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against her."

"Yeah," said Fred. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble. Well, at least one of you has their priorities right." He walked to Hailey and clapped her on the back and gave Ron a scathing look. "Prefect…ickle Ronnie the prefect…"

"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting," said George, groaning. He handed the prefect badge back to Ron.

Ron took the badge and stared at it for a moment, and held it out to Hailey, as though he was asking for confirmation.

Hailey took it and examined it. There was a large 'P' engraved on the Gryffindor lion. She had seen a badge like it, but it was blue and bronze for Ravenclaw and a large 'P' was engraved on the Ravenclaw eagle, once on Robert Hilliard's chest, during her first year at Hogwarts.

The door banged open and Hermione came running to the room. "Did you—did you get—?" She looked at the prefect badge and frowned. "Ron's a prefect?"

"It has my name on the letter," Ron said, finally.

"I…I…well…wow!" said Hermione, looking bewildered. "Well done, Ron! That's really—"

"Unexpected," said George nodding in agreement.

"No, no it's not…" Hermione said, blushing harder than ever. "Ron's done loads of…he's really…"

The door opened a little and Mrs Weasley backed into the room, carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes. She said, "Ginny said that the booklists had finally come in." She looked at the envelopes as she made her way to a bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me, I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing." She noticed Ron's pajamas and picked them up. "Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short. I can't believe how fast you're growing…what colour would you like?"

Hailey saw George smirk before he said, "Get him red and gold to match his badge."

"Match his what?" asked Mrs Weasley absentmindedly. She rolled up a pair of maroon socks and placed them on Ron's pile.

"His badge," said Fred, "His lovely, shiny new prefect's badge."

It took a moment for the words to register in Mrs Weasley's mind since she was to preoccupied with the pajamas.

Mrs Weasley stuttered, "His…but…Ron, you're not…?" Ron held up the badge and Mrs Weasley shrieked, "I don't believe it! I don't believe! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?" asked George indignantly as his mother pushed him aside.

Mrs Weasley hugged her youngest son, "Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy, just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, or Ronnie—"

Fred and George were doing loud, exaggerated retching noise, but Mrs Weasley didn't notice because she was kissing Ron all over his face. Ron's face had turned a bright shade of red.

"Mum…don't…Mum, get a grip," Ron muttered, trying to push his mother away.

She let of Ron and said, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy and owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?" asked Ron, as if he thought his ears were deceiving him.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" responded Mrs Weasley fondly. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," replied Fred in a bitter tone, looking as if he regretted buying Ron some new robes.

Mrs Weasley continued, "Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers—"

"Mum, can I have a new broom?" asked Ron sounding hopeful. Mrs Weasley's smile dropped a little. Ron hastily added, "Not a really good one! Just—just a new one for a change…"

Mrs Weasley seemed to hesitate and smiled, "Of course you can…Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see all later…" Almost to herself, she said, "Little Ronnie, a prefect!" She looked at her sons and Hailey, "And don't forget to pack your trunks…" Almost to herself again, "A prefect…oh, I'm all of a dither!" She kissed Ron on the cheek, sniffed loudly, and left the room.

Fred and George looked at each other.

In a falsely anxious voice, Fred said, "You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?"

"We could curtsy if you like," said George.

Ron scowled at them, "Oh, shut up."

"Or what?" asked Fred grinning evilly. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," sniggered George.

"He could if you don't watch out!" Hermione said angrily.

Fred and George busted out laughing and Ron muttered, "Drop it, Hermione."

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," said Fred, pretending to shake, "With these two on our case…"

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," said George, shaking his head sadly.

With a loud crack, the twins Disapparated.

"Those two!" snarled Hermione furiously. She glared at the ceiling, where they could hear Fred and George roaring with laughter. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

"I don't think they are," said Ron doubtfully also looking at the ceiling. "They've always said only prats become prefects…Still," sounding happy he said, "They've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose…She'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great…Yeah, I think I'll go and tell I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows…" He ran from the room, leaving the two girls alone.

Hailey turned and picked up the pile of clean robes that Mrs Weasley laid out for her.

"Hailey?" asked Hermione, sounding tentative.

Hailey turned to her and smiled, "Good job, Hermione." She would've hugged Hermione, but she was holding robes.

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Erm—Hailey—could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad, Michael, and Mandy? They'll be really pleased—I mean prefect is something that my parents can understand."

"Go ahead," said Hailey nodding at Hedwig. At least she knew Michael and Mandy hadn't been made prefects, because they would've sent her letters being excited over it. It made her wonder who else ended up being prefects.

She needed to be excited for Ron, who had finally beaten her at something. Ron didn't ask to be a prefect. She couldn't ruin this for him for feeling a little jealous over it. She heard someone bound up the stairs and a door open, then close. Her bedroom door opened and Hailey looked at Ron, forcing herself to smile at him.

"I just caught her!" Ron said happily. "She says she'll get the Cleansweep if she can."

"That's cool," replied Hailey. "Well done."

Ron stopped smiling, "I never thought it would be me! I thought it would be you, Mandy, or Michael!"

Hailey shook her head, "Nah, I've caused too much trouble, like what Fred said. Michael did too, because he always ran into it with me."

"Yeah," said Ron, "yeah, I suppose…Well, we'd better get our trunks packed."

Ron had left the room and Hailey went to pack up, only having to leave to search for more of her scattered possessions. It turned out that Ron had to find his possessions, too. Hailey went to help Ron pack, only to see that Ron kept moving the badge around. He first placed it on the bedside table, then put it in his jeans pocket, only to take it out and put it on his folded robes, as if trying to see how the red badge looked on the black robes.

"Do you want us to use a Permanent Sticking Charms to attach it to your forehead?" asked George.

Hailey grabbed a pair of Ron's socks and threw it at George, who held up his arm to defend himself. "We're just joking."

The twins ran off, laughing, and Ron wrapped the badge up in a pair of maroon socks to lock it in his trunk.

* * *

It was around six o'clock when Mrs Weasley arrived from Diagon Alley, laden with books and a long package wrapped in thick brown paper, which Ron took from her. Hailey took the two new books she needed.

"Never mind unwrapping it now, people are arriving for dinner. I want you all downstairs," Mrs Weasely said and walked away.

Ron ripped the wrapping paper off the broomstick and looked excited as he examined the new broom.

When they went to the basement, there was a large scarlet banner that had: **CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE— NEW PREFECTS**

The banner was hung over a heavily laden dinner table. Hailey noticed the Mrs Weasley looked to be in a better mood.

"I thought that we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," Mrs Weasley told the returning Hogwarts students. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron. I've sent them both owls and they're _thrilled_." She was beaming.

Fred rolled his eyes.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there. Mad-Eye Moody clunked in after Hailey got a butterbeer.

"Oh, Alastor, I'm glad that you're here," said Mrs Weasley brightly as Mad-Eye took off his traveling cloak. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages—could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"No problem, Molly…." Moody replied gruffly. His electric-blue eye swiveled to the ceiling and remained fixed on it. "Drawing room…" his pupil contracted, "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it…yeah it's a boggart…Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

"No, I'll do it myself later," said Mrs Weasley, "you have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually…" she motioned to the banner and fondly, said, "Fourth prefect in the family!" she ruffled Ron's hair.

"Prefect, eh?" growled Moody. His normal was on Ron, "authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most major jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you…"

Ron looked startled at that word of wisdom. Mr Weasley and Bill came in, being accompanied with Mundungus, who's long overcoat seemed lumpy in odd places.

"You can put your coat with Moody's traveling cloak," Mrs Weaseley said to him.

"No, I think I'll wear it," Mundungus said getting a drink.

After everyone seemed to get one, Mr Weasley said, "Well, I think a toast is in order." He raised his goblet, "To Ron and Hermione, new Gryffindor prefects!"

Ron and Hermione beamed when everyone drank to them and gave them a round of applause.

"I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks happily as everyone went to the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato red and waist-length, making her look like Ginny's older sister. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"Like the ability to behave myself," replied Tonks.

Ginny laughed while Hermione looked as though she didn't know whether to smile or not and took a drink of butterbeer, but choked on it.

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked thumping Hermione on the back.

Sirius, who was standing beside Hailey, let out a laugh, and said, "No one would've made me a prefect. I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, so he got the badge."

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friend," said Lupin. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

Hailey felt a little better, knowing that her dad wasn't a prefect either. She loaded up the plate and watched Ron walk around, bragging about his new broom to who would listen to him. She was glad that Ron was enjoying himself.

"…nought to seventy in ten seconds, not bad, is it? When you think the Comet Two Ninety's only nought to sixty and that's with a decent tailwind according to _Which Brommstick_?"

Hailey noticed that Hermione was talking to Lupin about elf rights. Hermione was saying, "I mean, it's the same kind of nonsense as werewolf segregation, isn't it? It all stems from this horrible thing that wizards have of thinking they're superior to other creatures…"

It looked like Mrs Weasley and Bill were having the usual argument over Bill's hair. Mrs Weasley was saying, "…getting out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, Hailey?"

Hailey felt a little embarrassed over being tasked that. "I don't know…" She moved to the Weasley twins, who were speaking with Mundungus.

When Hailey got there, Munudungus stopped talking, but Fred winked and waved for Hailey to get closer. Fred spoke to Mundungus, "It's okay, we can trust Hailey. She's our financial backer."

George spoke to Hailey, "Look what Dung's got us." He held out his hand to her. He had a handful of shriveled looking black pods.

Hailey could hear a faint rattling noise coming from them, even though they weren't moving. "Are those Venomous Tentacula seeds? They're supposed be non-tradeable."

"Yeah, they're for our Skiving Snackboxes," George said. "We've been having a bit of trouble getting a hold of them."

"Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung?" asked Fred.

"Wiv all the trouble I went to get 'em?" replied Mundungus. His eyes looked saggy and bloodshot. "I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty."

"Dung likes his little jokes," Fred told Hailey.

"Yeah, his best one for far has been six Sickles for a bag of Knarly quills," replied George.

Hailey looked over Mundung's shoulder to look at Mad-Eye. "Be careful," she told the twins.

"What?" replied Fred, "Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron. We're going to be okay."

"Moody could have his eye on you," Hailey told them.

Mundung looked over his shoulder, and grunted, "Good point, that." He looked at the Weasley twins. "All right, lads, ten Galleons it is, if you'll take 'em quick."

"Cheers, Hailey!" replied Fred sounding delighted as Mundungus emptied his pockets and hurried over to the food. "We'd better get these upstairs."

Hailey watched the twins leave and then felt uneasy. She knew that the twins' parents would want to know how they were financing the joke shop when they would finally find out about it. She wondered if giving the twins the winnings might cause Fred and George to have a row with their parents and have a Percy-like estrangement. Would Mrs Weasley still feel that she was as good as Mrs Weasley's daughter if she found that Hailey had made it possible for Fred and George to have what Mrs Weasley considered an 'unsuitable' career?

She stood there, feeling a little guilty, but she heard Kingsley Shacklebolt say, "…why Dumbledore didn't make Potter a prefect?"

"He must've had his reasons for it," replied Lupin.

"But it would've shown confidence in her," replied Kingsley. "It's what I'd've done. 'specially with the _Daily Prophet_ having a go at her every few days…"

Hailey didn't turn around. She wanted to be happy that Ron was made a prefect, considering how Mandy and Michael didn't get made prefects either. She walked to the table, where Mad-Eye was sniffing at a chicken leg and then bit a chunk out of it.

Hailey heard Ron tell Tonks, "…the handle's made of Spanish oak with anti-jinx varnish and in-built vibration control—"

Mrs Weasley yawned and said, "Well, I think I'll sort out that boggart before I turn in…Arthur, I don't want this lot up to late, all right?" She said to Hailey, "Night, Hailey, dear," before leaving the kitchen.

Hailey was busy feeling guilty over everything that happened.

Moody grunted, "You all right, Potter?"

"Yeah," replied Hailey.

Moody swigged from his hipflask, focusing his electric-blue eye on Hailey. "Come here, I've got something that might interest you."

Hailey walked over as Moody dug around in an inner pocket of his robes. He pulled out a tattered looking wizarding photograph that looked very old.

Hailey looked down at the group of people, who were waving at her or lifting their glasses, as they looked up at her.

"The Original Order of the Phoenix," said Moody. "Found it last night when I was looking for my spare Invisibility Cloak, seeing as Podmore don't have the manner to return my best one…thought people might like to see it.

"There's me," said Moody, pointing at himself, which seemed unnecessary. Hailey could see that in the picture Moody's hair was less grey and his nose was intact. He pointed at Dumbledore who was beside him. He also pointed out Dedalus Diggle on the other side of Dumbledore. He pointed at Marlene McKinnon and told Hailey that she was killed two weeks after the picture was taken, and he told her that Death Eaters had killed her whole family. He pointed out Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Hailey looked at Alice, who had a round, friendly looking face that Neville had inherited.

"Poor devils," growled Moody. "Better dead than what happened to them…" he pointed at a woman that was next to Alice. "That's Candace Taylor. Candace is Alice's sister, she is quite a duelist, if I say so, myself." He pointed at Emmeline Vance and then at Lupin. He pointed at someone named Benjy Fenwick, who had died, but apparently in pieces since they found bits of him. "Shift aside there…" He poked the picture and the Order moved aside, so the ones that were partially hidden moved to the front.

Moody pointed at Edgar Bones, who was the brother of Amelia Bones. Moody told Hailey that the Death Eaters got him and his family and that Edgar was a great wizard. He pointed at Sturgis Podmore, who looked surprisingly young. He pointed out Caradoc Dearborn who vanished six months after the photo was taken and they never found his body. He pointed at Hagrid, who appears to not have aged. He pointed at Gideon and his brother, Fabian Prewett. Moody told Hailey that it took five Death Eaters to kill them, and that they fought like heroes. "…budge along, budge along…"

The people moved among, to reveal the ones that were hidden.

Moody pointed out Dumbledore's brother Aberforth, and apparently that was the only time that Moody met him and that he was strange person. He pointed out a witch named Dorcas Meadowes, apparently Voldemort killed her in person. He pointed at Sirius who had short hair and pointed out Hailey's parents.

Hailey looked at her parents, who were smiling up at her. Peter Pettigrew was in the picture, sitting between her parents. Pettigrew had betrayed her parents to Voldemort. Pettigrew went by the nickname Wormtail, but Hailey thought that he didn't deserve to go by the nickname that her dad and his friends gave him, so she refused to call Pettigrew, Wormtail.

"Eh?" asked Moody.

Hailey looked up at him. She was sure that Moody thought that they had given her a treat. "Yeah, thanks…I've just remembered, I wanted to get ahead of my—"

"What's that you've got there, Mad-Eye?" asked Sirius. Moody turned to Sirius and Hailey walked across the kitchen and walked out. She went upstairs before anyone could call her back. She tiptoed up the stairs in the hall right past the stuffed elf-heads. She was feeling glad to be alone again. When she reached the first landing, she heard someone sobbing in the drawing room.

She went upstairs and to the door of the drawing-room. "Hello? Mrs Weasley?" She didn't get a response and opened the door wider. Ron was sprawled out on the floor, clearly dead. It was impossible, because Ron was downstairs, celebrating.

Hailey repeated, "Mrs Weasley?"

" _R-Riddikulus!_ " Mrs Weasley sobbed, pointing her wand at Ron's body.

 _Crack_

Bill's body replaced Ron's. Bill was spread-eagled on his back, eyes wide open. Mrs Weasley sobbed harder than ever and repeated the spell.

 _Crack_

Mr Weasley replaced Bill's body, his glasses askew, with a trickle of blood running down his face.

"No!" Mrs Weasley moaned, "No." She repeated the spell three times. In between the cracking sound, Fred's and George's, Percy's, and Hailey's bodies appeared.

"Mrs Weasley, just leave the room!" Hailey ordered, staring down at her own dead body on the ground. "Let's get someone else to do—"

"What's going on?" a voice demanded. It was Lupin. Sirius and Moody had followed behind him. Lupin looked at Mrs Weasley to Hailey's dead body and pulled out his wand. " _Riddikulus!_ "

A silver orb floated over the spot where Hailey's dead body once laid. Lupin waved his wand and the orb vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Oh—oh—oh!" gasped Mrs Weasley, breaking into tears again.

"Molly," said Lupin sounding weary. "Molly, don't…" Mrs Weasley was now crying on Lupin's shoulder.

"Molly it was just a boggart." He patted her on the head, "Just a stupid boggart…"

"I see all of them d-d-dead all the time!" Mrs Weasley said. "All the t-t-time! I d-d-dream about it…"

Sirius stared where the boggart that pretended to be Hailey's body was at. Hailey was busy staring at Mrs Weasley, trying to avoid looking at Moody.

"D-d-don't tell Arthur," said Mrs Weasley, wiping her eyes on her cuffs. "I d-d-don't want him to know…Being silly…" Lupin handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose. "Hailey, I'm so sorry. What must you think of me? Not even able to get rid of a boggart…"

"Don't be stupid," replied Hailey, trying to force a smile.

"I'm just s-so-so worried," Mrs Weasley said, tears coming down her face. "Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this…and P-P-Percy's not talking to us. What if something d-d-dreadful happens and we've never m-m-made it up with him? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

"Molly, that's enough," said Lupin firmly. "This isn't like last time. The Order are better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to—"

Mrs Weasley did a little squeak of fright.

Lupin sighed, "Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you get used to hearing the name. Look, I can't promise that no one's going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time. You weren't in the Order then, you don't understand. Last time we were outnumbered, twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one…"

Hailey thought of the picture.

Sirius said, "Don't worry about Percy. He'll come round. It's only a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open. Once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them." He sounded bitter, "and I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology."

"And as for who's going to look after Ron and Ginny, if you and Arthur died," said Lupin giving a small smile, "What do you think we'd do, let them starve?"

Mrs Weasley smiled widely and muttered, "Being silly." She wiped her eyes.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Hailey closed the door behind her. She could still see that picture that Moody showed. She could see her parents smiling up at her, unaware that their life was going to end, like so many others.

The scar on her forehead seared with pain and she felt slightly nauseous. She rubbed the scar as the pain dulled and said, "Cut it out."

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, my dear," said the raspy mirror.

Hailey ignored it, throwing herself on her bed. The thought of Voldemort made her worry again. It was kind of funny, thinking that an hour ago, she was worried about who got a prefect badge and a joke shop.


	10. Luna Lovegood

A/N: The face-claim to Mandy is Chloë Grace Moretz.

The face-claim to Evangeline "Eva" Sinclair is Mackenzie Foy.

The face-claim to Ivanna "Ivy" Echols is Molly Quinn.

* * *

Everything was chaotic as they got ready to leave. As Hailey got dressed, in the same that she wore at the hearing, she heard Mrs Weasley yelling: " _—could have done her a serious injury, you idiots_ —"

Among that Mrs Black was screeching, " _—filthy half-breeds, besmirching the house of my fathers—_ "

Hailey figured that Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save time, resulting in Ginny being knocked down a flight stairs, which resulting in Mrs Weasley roaring at them.

Hailey was just lacing up her boots when Hermione ran into the room, looking flustered. Hedwig was swaying on her shoulder and Hermione was carrying a squirming Crookshanks in her arms.

"Mum and Dad just sent Hedwig back," Hermione said as the owl fluttered over to perch on her cage. "Are you ready yet?"

"Nearly," replied Hailey. "Is Ginny all right?"

"Mrs Weasley's patched her up," replied Hermione. "But now Mad-Eye's complaining that we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard will be one short."

Hailey groaned, "Seriously? I have to go to King's Cross with a guard? Voldemort's supposed to be lying low. What is he going to do? Jump out at us from behind a dustbin and try doing me in?"

"It's just what Mad-Eye says," said Hermione sounding distracted. "But if we don't leave soon, we're going to miss the train…"

" _Will you lot get down here now, please_!" bellowed Mrs Weasley.

Hermione jumped and hurried out of the room. Hailey had to stuff Hedwig in the cage, muttering apologies for manhandling her and ran downstairs after Hermione, dragging her trunk.

Mrs Black was still raging, but no one bothered closing the curtains, because she was bound to be bothered again.

"Hailey, you're to come with me and Tonks!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage…"

A black dog, the size of a bear appeared at Hailey's side.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed.

Sirius's dog-form was climbing over various trunks that laid in the hall to get to Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, honestly," said Mrs Weasley in a despairing tone, "well, it'll be on your own head!"

She threw open the front door and stepped out into the September sunlight. Hailey and Sirius followed after her. The door slammed shut and Hailey was glad for Mrs Black's screeching to be silenced.

"Where's Tonks?" asked Hailey, looking around as they walked down stone steps of number twelve.

"She's waiting for us just up here," said Mrs Weasley in a stiff tone. She was avoiding looking at Sirius.

There was an old woman with tightly curled grey hair and wearing a purple pork pie hat standing on the street corner.

"Wotcher, Hailey," the woman said, winking at her and then checked her watch. "We better hurry up, Molly."

"I know, I know," said Mrs Weasley, taking large steps. "Mad-Eye wanted to wait for Sturgis…if only Arthur could have got us cars from the Ministry again…but Fudge won't even let him borrow an empty ink bottle these days. How Muggles can stand traveling without magic."

 _We get used to it_ , thought Hailey.

Sirius in dog form gave joyful sounding bark and ran around, snapping at pigeons and chasing its own tail. Hailey had to laugh at her godfather's actions, knowing that he had been trapped inside his hated childhood home for a long time.

It took twenty minutes to reach King's Cross on foot, with nothing eventful happening, besides Sirius scaring a couple of cats.

When they got inside the station, they lingered beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten until the coast was clear. One-by-one they leaned against the barrier, to fall through onto platform nine and three-quarters, where the Hogwarts Express was at, billowing sooty steam. She looked at the departing students and their families, wondering where Michael was in the crowd.

"I hope the others make it in time," said Mrs Weasley anxiously. She was staring at the wrought-iron arch.

"Nice dog, Hailey!" called a tall boy with dreadlocks.

"Thanks, Lee," Hailey said, grinning. Sirius wagged his tail frantically. She didn't know Lee Jordan that well, but she knew that he was friends with the Weasley twins.

"Oh, good," said Mrs Weasley, sounding very relieved, "here's Alastor with the luggage, look…"

Mad-Eye limped through the archway, pushing a trolley that was loaded with their trunks. He had a porter's cap pulled low over his mismatched eyes.

"All okay," Mad-Eye told Mrs Weasley and Tonks. "Don't think we were followed."

Mr Weasley emerged on to the platform with Ron and Hermione, nearly unloading Moody's luggage trolley when Fred, George, and Ginny turned up with Lupin.

"No trouble?" asked Moody.

"None," replied Lupin.

"I'll be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore," growled Moody, "That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. He's getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

"Well, look after yourselves," said Lupin, shaking everyone's hands. When he reached Hailey, he gave her a clap on the shoulder, "You too, Hailey. Be careful."

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled," said Moody, shaking Hailey hand. "And don't forget, all of you—careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

"It's been great meeting all of you," said Tonks, Hugging Hermione and Ginny. "We'll see you soon, I expect."

A warning whistle sounded and the students that was still on the platform started hurrying onto the train.

"Quick, quick," said Mrs Weasely in a distracted, hugging them at random and hugged Hailey twice. "Write…be good…If you've forgotten anything, we'll send it on…Onto the train, now, hurry."

The dog reared onto its hind legs, so it can place its front paws onto Hailey's shoulder for a moment, and Mrs Weasley had to shove Hailey away towards the train door. Hailey heard Mrs Weasley hissing, "For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!"

"See you!" Hailey called out of the open window as the train moved. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny waved beside her.

Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and Mr and Mrs Weasley shrank rapidly, but Sirius was bounding alongside the window, wagging its tail. Hailey can see blurred people laughing to see it chasing the train. The train rounded a bend and Sirius was gone.

"He shouldn't have come with us," said Hemrione, sounding worried.

"Oh, lighten up," said Ron. "He hasn't seen daylight for months, poor bloke."

"Well," said Fred, clapping his hands. "We can't stand around chatting all day, since we've got business to discuss with Lee. See you later." He and George walked down the corridor to the right.

The train was gathering speed, so the houses flashed by.

"I s'pose I should go find where Michael and Mandy is at," Hailey said, "Since you've got prefect business to attend to."

"Yeah, the letter said that we've got to go down and get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl." Hermione said, "I don't think we're going to be there all journey."

Hermione and Ron dragged their trunks, Crookshanks, and a caged Pigwidgeons towards the engine end of the train.

Hailey felt weird, because she never traveled on the Hogwarts Express without Ron.

"If we don't hurry, we won't leave them any seats," Ginny said.

"Right," Hailey muttered, picking up Hedwig's cage in one hand and the handle of her trunk in the other. They struggled off down the corridor, peering through the glass-paneled doors into the compartments that they passed, which were already full.

Hailey noticed that a lot of the students stared back at her with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbours, to point at her. Hailey remembered the _Daily Prophet_ articles and was agitated about it. She didn't get why it seemed like they believed the stories. When has she ever showed delusional moments?

She passed a carriage where Michael's cousin, Eva, and Eva's strawberry blonde best friend, Ivy was in. Ivy was looking over some sort of parchment, before Eva stood up and opened the compartment door, keeping a hold of her pet puffskein, Eve.

"He's in the last carriage with Luna, Mandy, and Colton." Eva said grinning, before sitting down across from Ivy, who passed her the parchment.

They went to the last compartment that Eva had directed them to. Inside the compartment was: Mandy, who had a cat curled up on her lap asleep, Michael, a girl with scraggly dirty blonde hair, who was holding a magazine upside down, who went by the name Luna.

Hailey opened the door, just as Michael stood up.

Hailey was to excited to see him that she let go of her trunk, gave Ginny Hedwig's cage, and threw herself into Michael's arms. She kissed him really hard. She didn't mean to kiss him hard, but she was just happy to see him.

Neville Longbottom, Hailey's fellow fifth-year who happened to be a Gryffindor appeared, pulling his trunk and holding on a struggling toad.

"Hi, Hailey, Michael, Ginny," Neville panted. "Everywhere's full…I can't find a seat."

Neville and Ginny walked in. Hailey took her trunk from Ginny, slightly embarrassed over kissing Michael like that.

Hailey noticed how Mandy had an eyebrow arched at her as Michael helped Hailey and Ginny store their trunks in the luggage rack, along with Hedwig's cage. They sat down and Hailey noticed that Luna was reading _The Quibbler._

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," said Luna in a dreamy tone. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know."

Ginny nodded, "That's good." She looked at Neville, "Colton told us that you got a plant for your birthday, Neville."

Neville used his free hand to dig into his schoolbag. He pulled out what looked to be a small grey cactus that was in a pot, except it looked to be covered in boils than spines.

"That's _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ ," Mandy said, looking at the plant closely, sounding impressed.

Hailey and Michael stared at the plant. It looked like it was pulsating slightly, giving it a rather sinister look of some diseased looking internal organ.

"These are really, really rare," said Neville. "I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

"You know, I read that they have an amazing defense mechanism," Hailey said, looking closely at the plant. It was kind of disgusting looking, but she couldn't look away from it.

"Here, hold Trevor for me…" Neville said, dumping the toad into Hailey's lap. Hailey grabbed the toad before he can hop away. Neville took a quill from his schoolbag and Hailey noticed that Luna was looking at them from over the top of her magazine.

Neville held the plant up to his eye, chose a spot, and prodded the plant with the quill tip.

Liquid squired from every boil on plant. Thick, smelly, dark jets of liquid splattered everywhere. Hailey received a face full of liquid, which smelt like rancid manure. Mandy had bowed over, protecting her cat, but got splattered with it. Michael and Colton had gotten splattered to. Luna's magazine had gotten spattered. Ginny had thrown her arms in front of her face, so the result was looking like she was wearing a green hat.

Neville's face and torso was drenched. He shook his head to get the worse out of his eye. He gasped, "So sorry. I haven't tried that before…Didn't realize it would be quite so…Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous." Hailey spat out some Stinksap and Michael was wiping his face off.

Mandy held out her wand and said, " _Scourgify_!"

The Stinksap vanished.

"Sorry," Neville said in a small voice.

"It's okay," Hailey said, giving Neville the toad back. She gave a smile to let him know that she wasn't mad.

"Who turned out to be the Ravenclaw prefects anyway?" Mandy asked.

"Anthony Goldstein was chosen," Michael said. "I don't know who else though."

"Hermione and Ron were picked for Gryffindor," Hailey said.

The food trolley arrived a little later and they went to it. They bought chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, and Colton Taylor bought Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which he and Neville ate. Neville looked like was nearly turning into a nervous wreck every time he grabbed one.

Michael had his arm around Hailey's shoulders, as Hailey, Ginny, Colton, and Neville were finishing Pumpkin Pasties and swapping Chocolate Frog cards, when the compartment door slid open.

Hermione and Ron walked in, accompanied by Crookshanks and a shrilly hooting Pigwidgeon in the cage.

"I'm starving," Ron said sitting down right between Hailey and Michael. They had to move over to make room for him.

Ron grabbed a Chocolate Frog from Hailey and ripped open the wrapper. He bit off the frog's head and leaned back with eyes closed as though he had a very exhausting morning.

"Guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" asked Ron his eyes still closed.

"Malfoy," Hailey replied at once.

"'Course," said Ron bitterly. He stuffed the rest of the Frog into his mouth and took another.

"I bet his dad paid for him to be a prefect," Mandy said.

"And that complete cow, Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll…"

"I bet Malfoy's dad paid for her to be a prefect, too." Mandy muttered patting her cat's side.

"What about the Hufflepuffs?" asked Hailey.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," said Ron through a mouthful of chocolate frog.

"Anthony is Ravenclaw's," Michael said.

"Padma Patil is the other prefect," replied Hermione.

"Oh, good for her," Mandy said. "She's very studious."

Ron looked at his watch, "We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," he told the other, "and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something…"

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" snapped Hermione sharply.

"Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all," replied Ron sarcastically.

"Malfoy would," Michael said.

"So, you're going to descend to his level?" asked Hermione.

"No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine," replied Ron.

Hermione started, "For heaven's sake, Ron—"

"I'll make Goyle do lines," Ron said as though he didn't hear Hermione. "He hates writing." He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and mad a pained face. He mimed writing in midair, " _I…must…not…look…like…a…baboon's…backside_."

Everyone laughed, but Luna laughed harder than anyone else. She laughed so hard her magazine fell out of her grasp and onto the floor.

"That was funny!" She held her ribs as she rocked back and forth.

"Are you taking the mickey?" asked Ron frowning at Luna.

"Baboon's…backside!" Luna choked holding her ribs.

Hailey noticed the magazine on the floor and grabbed it. The cover had a fairly bad cartoon of Cornelius Fudge, which was only recognizable because of the lime-green bowler hat. One of Fudge's hands was gripping a bag of gold. The other hand was punching a goblin. It was captioned: _How Far Will Fudge Go to Gain Gringotts?_

There was other titles:

 **CORRUPTION IN THE QUIDDITCH LEAGUE:  
** **How the Tornados are Taking Control**

 **SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT RUINS REVEALED**

 **SIRIUS BLACK: Villain or Victim?**

"Can I have a look at this?" Hailey asked Luna.

Luna nodded, looking at Ron, breathless with laughter.

Hailey opened the magazine and looked at the index. She had forgotten the magazine Kingsley had handed to Mr Weasely to give to Sirius, but it must've been this edition of _The Quibbler_.

She founded the page and turned to the article. It was illustrated with another bad cartoon. Hailey wouldn't have recognized the picture if it hadn't have Sirius's name captioned. It looked like Sirius was standing on a pile of human bones, with his wand out.

The headline on the article said:

 **SIRIUS—Black As He's Painted?  
** **Notorious Mass Murdered OR Innocent Singing Sensation?**

Hailey had to reread the first sentence several times. She skimmed the article, which was saying that Sirius was actually Stubby Boardman, the lead singer of _The Hobgoblins_ , who apparently was out having dinner with someone named Mrs Purkiss.

Now she knew why _The Quibbler_ was considered a joke.

She flipped back the article about Cornelius Fudge.

Apparently Fudge denied planning on taking over the running of Gringotts. There were 'sources' that was close to the Minister of Magic, who disclosed that Fudge's ambition is to take control of the goblin gold supplies and would force if needed to be. A Ministry insider said that it wouldn't be the first time and called Fudge "Cornelius 'Goblin-Crush' Fudge.' Apparently Fudge talks about killing goblins, but having them drowned, dropped off buildings, poisoned them, and had even cooked them in pies.

She didn't finish it, and flipped through the magazine. She read an article that was accusing the Tutshill Tornadoes were winning the Quidditch League by a combination of blackmail, illegal broom-tampering, and torture. There was an interview where a wizard claimed to have flown to the moon on a Cleansweep Six and brought back a bag of moon frogs to prove it. There was an article on ancient runes that was upside-down, which explained why Luna had the magazine upside-down. It said that if you turned the runes on their head, they revealed a spell to make your enemy's ears turn into kumquats. The only sensible article was Sirius being a singer of _The Hobgoblins_.

"Anything good in there?" asked Ron as Hailey closed the magazine.

"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly, before Hailey could answer. " _The Quibbler_ 's rubbish, everyone knows that."

"Excuse me," said Luna, her voice suddenly loosing its dreamy quality. "My father's the editor."

"I—oh," said Hermione, looking embarrassed. "Well…it's got some interesting…I mean, it's quite…"

"I'll have it back, thank you," said Luna in a cold voice. She leaned forwards and took it out of Hailey's hands. She riffled through the magazine and turned it upside-down, right as the compartment door opened.

Hailey turned to see Draco Malfoy smirking at her from between his cronies Crabbed and Goyle.

"What?" snapped Hailey before Malfoy could speak.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," drawled Malfoy. His sleek blond hair and pointed chin was just like his father's. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone," Hailey responded.

Everyone in the compartment, minus the Slytherins and Luna, laughed.

Malfoy's lip curled, "Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?"

"Shut up!" said Hermione sharply. Hailey was going to say that she didn't really care and that she was glad for Ron to have something that she didn't.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy smirking. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be _dogging_ your footsteps in case you step out of line."

"Get out!" shouted Hermione standing up.

Sniggering, Malfoy gave Hailey a last malicious look.

"That word doesn't mean what you think it means, prat," called Michael as the three Slytherins left the compartment.

Hermione slammed the compartment door shut.

"Chuck us another Frog," said Ron, not noticing how Hailey and Hermione were unnerved. Mandy and Michael looked at each other. Hailey will explain to them when they were alone.

Hailey couldn't tell if Malfoy using the word 'dogging' had been a coincidence, though.

* * *

As they traveled, rain spattered the windows, and then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more. When darkness fell, the lamps came out inside the carriages.

Luna rolled up _The Quibbler_ , and carefully put it away. She stared at everyone in the compartment.

"We'd better change," Hermione said at last. With great difficulty, they pulled on their school robes. She and Ron pinned their prefect badges carefully to their chests.

Hailey saw Ron checking out his reflection in the black window.

The train began slowing down and they was the racket as everybody moved to get everything ready.

Ron and Hermione disappeared from the carriage, leaving Hailey and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon.

"I'll carry that owl if you like," said Luna to Hailey, reaching out for Pig as Neville stowed Trevor in an inside pocket. Ginny grabbed Crookshanks.

"Oh—er—thanks," replied Hailey, handing the younger Ravenclaw the cage. She grabbed Hedwig's cage.

"You want me to get Hedwig?" Michael asked.

"Sure," Hailey said, handing the cage to Michael.

They moved out of the compartment into the crowd in the corridor. Slowly, they moved towards the door. Hailey could smell the pine trees that lined the path down to the lake. She stepped down onto the platform and looked around, waiting for the familiar call of 'firs years over 'ere…firs years…'

"First years line up over here, please! All first years to me!" called out a brisk female voice.

A lantern swung towards Hailey and she saw the prominent chin and severe haircut of Professor Grubbly-Plank, the witch who had taken over Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lessons for a while last year.

"Where's Hagrid?" asked Hailey.

"I don't know," said Ginny, "but we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door."

They moved out the way, Michael grabbing Hailey's hand before they could get separated. Ginny was separated from them and Mandy grabbed onto Hailey's shoulder tightly. Hailey realized that Mandy was at least an inch shorter than her now.

"I had my growth-spurt," Mandy said. She was keeping a hold on Sami's cage, who apparently didn't like being stuffed in there. "So, when were you two going to tell me that you're dating?"

They were shunted forward to the road outside Hogsmeade Station.

There were a hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that always took the students above first year up to the castle. Hailey glanced at them and turned to look for Ron and Hermione, but had to look at the stagecoaches again.

There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts. There looked like horses but had a reptilian look about them. They were fleshless, their black coats clung to their skeletons, and every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonless and they had completely white eyes that stared. Vast, black leathery looking bat wings came from each wither. They stood still and quiet.

"Where's Pig?" asked Ron from right behind Hailey.

"Luna was carrying him," Hailey said turning to look at Ron. "Where d'you reckon—"

"Hagrid is?" Ron finished. "I dunno." He sounded worried, "He'd better be okay…"

Draco Malfoy, followed by his small gang of cronies that included Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, was pushing some timid-looking second-years out of the way, so they can get a coach to themselves.

Hermione emerged, panting from the crowd. "Malfoy was being absolutely foul to a first-year back there. I swear I'm going to report him, he's only had his badge three minutes and he's using it to bully people worse than ever…Where's Crookshanks?"

"Ginny's got him," said Hailey. She pointed, "There she is…"

Ginny emerged from the crowd, clutching a squirming Crookshanks.

"Thanks," said Hermione taking the cat from Ginny. "Come on, let's get a carriage together before they fill up…"

"I haven't got Pig yet!" Ron said but Hermione was already going to the nearest unoccupied coach.

Hailey, Mandy, and Michael stayed with Ron. Hailey looked at the winged horses, "Why are—"

Luna appeared holding Pig's cage in her arms. The tiny owl was twittering excitedly. Luna said, "Here you are. He's a sweet little owl, isn't he?"

"Er…yeah…he's all right," said Ron gruffly taking the cage from Luna.

"Where's Colton?" Mandy asked.

"He said that he was going to ride up to the castle with his boyfriend, Stephen," Luna said.

"Well, come on then, let's get in…" Ron said and looked at Hailey. "What were you saying, Hailey?"

"I was asking why Thestrals pull the carriages to Hogwarts," Hailey said.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Thestrals," Hailey said, slowly, "Thestrals pull the carriages to the castle."

"Thestrals?" asked Mandy sounding confused.

"Yeah," replied Hailey growing agitated.

"They've always pulled the carriages," Luna said. "I've seen them since my first day here. Don't worry, she's just as sane as I am." She went in the carriage after Ron. Mandy went after Luna.

Hailey and Michael went in last. Michael wrapped his arm around Hailey's shoulder, as if reassuring her that it was fine that she was now seeing Thestrals.

Thestrals. She knew that only people who witnessed and processed death can see them. But what the hell were they doing pulling the school carriages?


	11. The Sorting Hat's New Song

Hailey stared at the Thestrals through the window of the carriage.

"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" asked Ginny. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna. "He isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" said the older Ravenclaws, Ron, and Ginny angrily.

Hailey glared at Hermione. Hermione cleared her throat and quickly said, "Erm…yes…he's very good."

"Well, some of us Ravenclaws think he's a bit of a joke," said Luna unfazed.

"You've got a rubbish sense of humour then," Ron snapped as the carriage started moving.

Luna didn't seem to be bothered by Ron being rude, because she stared at him for a while, as though he was a mildly interesting television program.

The carriage rattled and swayed as the carriages moved up the road. They passed between the tall, stone winged boar pillars that were on either side of the gates to the school. Hailey leaned forward, trying to see if there were any lights on in Hagrid's cabin that was by the Forbidden Forest, but the grounds were dark. The castle was getting closer. It was a towering mass of turrets, it was jet black against the night sky, and there were windows lit up.

The carriages stopped near the stone steps that led up to the oak front doors. Hailey turned to look for lit windows by the Forest, but there wasn't signs of life within Hagrid's cabin.

They left the carriages and joined the crowd that was hurrying up the stone steps into the castle.

The Entrance Hall was lit with torches and echoing with footsteps as they crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, that lead to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up. The ceiling showed them a starless black sky, which was enchanted to show the sky outside. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts that were dotted about the Hall.

As Mandy, Michael, Hailey, and Luna walked along the tables to get to the Ravenclaw table, Hailey noticed that people were putting their heads together to whisper to each other.

"Ignore them," Mandy said,taking Hailey's arm. She glared at everyone who whispered. "They just can't form their own opinions. They need someone to give them opinions."

Luna drifted away to sit with Colton as Hailey, Mandy, and Michael found seats near the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw house ghost.

Hailey looked at the Head Table that ran along the top wall of the Hall. "He's not there."

"He couldn't have left," Mandy said, thinking hard.

"He probably just…overslept or something," Michael said squeezing Hailey's hand.

Hailey had to think and then remembered something. She lowered her voice and said, "Maybe he's not back from his mission. That thing that that Dumbledore wanted him to do over the summer."

Mandy relaxed, "Yeah…that's it." She looked at the table and frowned, "Now, who the hell is _that_?"

Hailey looked and saw Professor Dumbledore, wearing deep-purple robes that was scattered with silvery stars, complete with a matching hat. Dumbledore was talking to the woman that was sitting next to him. She was squat, with short, curly brown hair, and wearing a horrible pink headband that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. She turned to take a sip from her goblet and Hailey recognized the face.

"It's Umbridge!" Hailey exclaimed.

"Oh, good lord," Mandy muttered.

"Who?" asked Michael confused.

"She was at my hearing," Hailey explained, "she works for Fudge."

"My dad hates her," Mandy said. "She has an annoying voice."

"If she works for Fudge, why is she here?" Michael asked.

"Dunno," Hailey said and they looked at the table.

Professor Grubbly-Plank, appeared behind the staff table, and took the seat that should've been Hagrid's.

"Oh, no, she's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Mandy muttered.

"Hey, you got what you always wanted," Michael said. "A female Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"Yeah, not her," Mandy said. "My dad is a good judge of character, so if he hates someone, there's a reason."

They were silenced as the first-years walked in, being led by Professor McGonagall, who was carrying a stool, that had an ancient, heavily patched and darned wizard's hat. It had a wide rip near the frayed brim.

The first-years lined up in front of the staff table that faced the rest of the students. Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of the first-years and stood back.

They waited and the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and then the Sorting Hat sang about how the founders of Hogwarts had been united by a common goal, which was to make the world's best magic school and pass along what they learned. Slytherin wanted to teach pure-bloods, Ravenclaw wanted to teach those who were intelligent, Gryffindor wanted the bravest, and Hufflepuff wanted to teach the lot and treat them the same. Thus, the four Houses were created, when Slytherin took in the pure-bloods who were cunning like him, Ravenclaw took the ones with the sharpest mind, the bravest and boldest were taken by Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff took the rest and taught them all she knew.

However, they worked in harmony for several years, but discord crept among the Houses and they turned on each other and divided because they sought to rule. There had been dueling and fighting, with friends clashing, and one morning, Slytherin departed and the fighting died out, because it left them downhearted. The founders were whittled down to three.

The hat sang about how the Houses should be united as they were once were meant to be. It sang about the Sorting Hat was there and they all know that it would sort them into houses because that's why it was there and how it was now going to go further and they should listen to it's song. It sang how it was supposed to split them and how it's worried that it's wrong, it must fulfill it's duty and quarter every year.

It still wondered whether Sorting them would bring the ends it fears. It warned them of knowing the perils, reading the sings, the warning history shows, because Hogwarts was in danger from deadly foes. It sang about how they must unite inside Hogwarts or they will crumble from within. It then sang about how it have told them and warned them, before it took a slight pause before saying that they should let the Sorting now begin.

The Hat became motionless and applause broke out, though Hailey could hear muttering and whispers.

"That is very odd," Mandy said.

"Has it ever gave out warnings?" Hailey asked.

"Yes, indeed," said the Grey Lady, leaning through Mandy, who shuddered. "The Hat gives out warnings whenever it feels as—"

Professor McGonagall glared at the whispering students, so the Grey Lady sat upright again, patting Mandy on the arm as an apology for leaning through the blonde.

Professor McGonagall looked at the long list of parchment and called out the first name, "Abercrombie, Euan."

A boy stumbled forward and put the Hat on his head. The Hat considered from a moment and then the rip opened up again and shouted: "Gryffindor!"

Slowly the long line of first-years thinned and "Zeller, Rose" was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and stool and walked away with them as Professor Dumbledore got to his feet and said, "To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands—welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down. He threw his long beard over his shoulder to keep it out of the way of his plate, because food appeared out of nowhere. The tables were groaning under the weight of pies, dishes of vegetable, bread, sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice.

"You were saying something before the Sorting," Michael said to the Grey Lady. "You were talking about the Hat giving warnings?"

"Oh, right," the Grey Lady said. "I have heard of the Hat giving several warnings before. It always detects periods of great danger for the school. It always says: stand together, be strong from within."

"How does it know when danger's coming?" Mandy asked ripping a bread roll in half.

"It lives in Dumbledore's office, so it may have picked up on a few things," the Grey Lady said.

"It wants all the Houses to be friends?" Hailey said, looking at the Slytherin table. "Fat chance on that."

"Well, now, you're friends with Gryffindors," the Grey Lady pointed out. "Michael's cousin is in Hufflepuff." Hailey looked over at the Hufflepuffs to see Eva and Ivy with their heads together, having some sort of private conversation. "Stephan is friends with two Slytherins. I say that we're slowly starting to be united."

* * *

When everyone finished eating, Dumbledore got to his feet once more, and the talking ceased immediately as they turned to face the Headmaster.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students—and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite and rather unenthusiastic applause. Hailey, Mandy, and Michael looked at each other, Hailey feeling panicked. Dumbledore didn't say how long Grubbly-Plank would be filling in for Hagrid.

Dumbledore continued speaking, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the—" He looked enquiringly at Umbridge.

For a moment, Hailey wasn't sure why he stopped talking, but Umbridge cleared her throat, " _Hem, hem_." She had gotten to her feet and was now intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore looked taken aback for a moment and sat down.

Professor Sprout had both eyebrows raised and Professor McGonagall's mouth had thinned. As Hailey remembered, no one dared to interrupt Dumbledore. She noticed how Mandy was smirking.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "For those kinds words of welcome." She had a high-pitched voice. Hailey couldn't help but instantly dislike her. She didn't know why, but she hated Umbridge.

Umbridge gave another, " _hem, hem_ " throat-clearing cough. She continued, "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I say!" She smiled, "and to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Hailey looked down the table, to see that no one looked happy. Some of the Ravenclaws looked taken back at being addressed like that.

"How old are we? Four?" Michael whispered to her.

Hailey bite back a grin at that.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" Umbridge exclaimed.

Hailey looked at Mandy, who was now grinning widely in amusement. Mandy whispered, "As long as I don't have to borrow that pink nightmare of a cardigan, I think we'll get along splendidly."

"I'm sure if I let her borrow something of mine, she'll turn it pink, before giving it back," Michael said.

The three of them snorted.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again, " _Hem, hem_."

"That's going to get my nerves very quickly," Mandy said sounding agitated.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rarity of your gifts with which you were born with may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction," Umbridge said, sounding more businesslike. "The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lost them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

Umbridge paused and did a little bow to the staff members, although none of them bowed back to her. Professor McGonagall had furrowed her eyebrows and Hailey saw the Transfiguration professor look at Professor Sprout, right as Umbridge did another ' _hem, hem_.'

"Oh, my god," Michael muttered looking annoyed now.

Umbridge continued, "Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty tasks of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"

"'Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged,'" Mandy repeated. "What does that even mean?"

Hailey shrugged. She wasn't even bothering to pay attention to the speech. Mandy was listening hard, but looked bored. Michael was staring off into space, like he had better things to think about. He probably did, but Hailey didn't know what those thoughts entailed.

She looked down at the table, and saw Cho Chang talking to her friends, although Cho looked a bit depressed. A few seats away, Luna was reading _The Quibbler_ again, while Colton Taylor talked to Stephen Cornfoot. She looked and found the Hufflepuff table. Ernie Macmillan was staring at Umbridge, but he looked like he was pretending to listen. Eva and Ivy had pieces of parchment out and going over them. She looked at the Gryffindor table. Ron looked like he was going to fall asleep, and Hermione was listening attentively.

Hailey was sure that if a riot broke out, Umbridge would've continued with her speech.

"…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent of preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." Umbridge finished saying and sat down.

Dumbledore clapped, the staff following his lead. Hailey noticed that several staff members clapped once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most of them seemed unaware that the speech ended.

Before Hailey could applaud, Dumbledore stood up again. "Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he bowed to Umbridge. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held—"

"That certainly wasn't illuminating," Mandy grumbled.

"I know, and I heard my Aunt Temperance's drone on about religion before," Michael said. "And my aunt knows how to suck the life out of you."

"I wonder what 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited,' means," Hailey said.

"I think it can mean that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts," Mandy said.

"What?" Michael said, looking startled.

There was clattering and banging all around. They got up and made their way out of the Great Hall. Hailey tried ignoring the whispering, staring, and pointing as they walked.

She tried not think about it. Of course everyone was going to stare at her. She had emerged from the Triwizard maze two months ago, holding the dead body of a fellow student, and claiming to have seen Lord Voldemort return to power. There really hadn't been enough time to explain before they all had to go home—even if she felt like giving the whole school detailed accounts of the event that occurred in the graveyard.

"Ignore them," Mandy said. "They don't know what they'll do in your place."

They walked up the spiraling staircase to the wooden door that had no lock, but a bronze eagle knocker, where one would knock once to get a riddle to solve. If they got it wrong, they would have to wait for someone to show up, knock once and try to solve the riddle.

Michael knocked on the knocker and the musical voice of the knocker asked them a riddle. She couldn't remember what it was, but when they entered the circular tower common room, it seemed like the students in the common room stopped to look at them.

Hailey pretended not to notice as she looked at the wide, circular, and airy common room. The graceful arched windows looked out to a nice view of the mountains and Quidditch pitch. There were blue and bronze silks. The ceiling was domed and was painted with stars, which reflected back onto the midnight-blue carpeting. There was a niche that was opposite of the door, which had a white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Beside the statue was a door that led to the dormitories above.

They went to the door and opened it. There were fourteen different doors and two sets of stairs that went in a spiral pattern. A sign above the first two doors said: _Seventh Year Ravenclaw Boys_ and _Seventh Year Ravenclaw Girls._ The room above the seventh year ones was: _Sixth Year Ravenclaw Boys_ and _Sixth Year Ravenclaw Girls._ At the very top it was for the first year boys and girls.

"Night," Hailey and Mandy said to Michael.

"Night," Michael said and kissed Hailey and gave Mandy a squeeze on her shoulder.

"Don't I get a good night kiss?" Mandy teased.

"No," Michael said, before heading up the boys' stairs.

Hailey and Mandy walked up to the girls' stairs to the dormitory.

Lisa Turpin and Sue Li were already in there. Lisa's face was red and she looked angry. They turned to look at the two newcomers.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Mandy asked.

"Nothing," Sue said. She went to pull on her pajamas. "Did you have a good holiday?"

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Hailey muttered, although she was sure that it would've taken a while to explain. "How about you?"

"It was fine," Sue said. "It seemed to be a lot better than Lisa's though."

"What happened?" Mandy asked sitting on her bed and petting her cat, Sami, who was licking her paw.

Lisa didn't answer at first. She set down her knitting needles and upturned a bag, dumping out a bunch of red yarn on the bed. She said, "My mum didn't want me to return to Hogwarts."

"What? Why?" asked Hailey. She stopped pulling off her robes.

Lisa turned and pulled out another bag of yarn, which was orange. She was refusing to look at Hailey. She said, "It's because of you."

Hailey almost groaned. "Are you kidding me?"

"It's not just you, it's Dumbledore too," Lisa said.

"Of course she believes the _Daily Prophet_ ," Hailey said. "Of course she's thinks I'm a lying basket case and Dumbledore's an old fool?"

"Yeah, something along those lines," Lisa said shrugging.

Hailey didn't say anything. She put her wand on her beside table, pulled off the robes, stuffed them into her trunk and pulled on her pajamas. She was tired of everything. She didn't know how they would react if they were in her shoes or combat boots. They honestly had no idea what it was like being the one being slandered again.

Lisa started, "Look, what actually happened that night when…you were in the maze. What happened to Cedric Diggory?"

"Just read the _Daily Prophet_ ," Hailey said. "I'm sure it can tell you all about what 'really happened.'" She used air quotes.

"The _Daily Prophet_ is rubbish!" Sue snapped, "Anyone with brains can see that! All those rubbish articles that Skeeter was putting out about Hailey, Michael, and Aileen last term! All of those rubbish stories now? Have you ever known Hailey to be stark-raving mad like those articles claim that she is?"

The door opened and Padma Patil walked in. She placed her hands on her hips, "What the hell is going on in here?"

"We're just having a discussion," Lisa said snapping the knitting needles at Padma.

"A pretty loud discussion," Padma said. "For now on, the _Daily Prophet_ or anything of that talk is banned from this dormitory. If I hear any talk about it, I'm giving you detention." Sue and Lisa looked at her. "If you don't believe me, try bringing it up and see what happens."

"Do you believe all the crap about You-Know-Who being back?" Lisa demanded.

"My personal opinion has nothing to do with this discussion, Lisa," Padma said. "I suggest that you go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

And with that all manner of conversation was over.


	12. Professor Umbridge

A/N: Sorry for the long, long break. I just sort of lost interest in this story, but I will try to finish the series, since I'm already on Book 5. Hopefully I won't lose interest in it this time around.

The face-claim to Sue Li is Brenda Song.

* * *

Lisa got dressed and left before Hailey could put her socks on.

Hailey frowned at that, "Does she honestly think that she'll turn into a nutter if she stayed in the same room with me?

"Don't worry about it," Padma said, pinning her prefect badge to her robes. "Everyone has different opinions. I wouldn't put to much stock in what everyone thinks, even though it must be hard, because of what they've been told. Just ignore them, Hailey. Don't lash out or anything. It'll just make things worse for you. They want to the _Daily Prophet_ to be proven right. They would want to know if you're really crazy."

"Thanks," Hailey said as Padma marched out of the dormitory.

Hailey looked at Mandy and Suee. She wondered how much longer she had to go through this.

Sue shrugged and sighed, "We're all just…" She paused, "we're all just stressed."

Hailey and Mandy left the dormitory. Mandy looked at a notice board and grinned. "Oh, look. We go to Hogsmeade in October."

"What's wrong with you two?" Michael asked walking up to them.

"We go to Hogsmeade in October," Mandy said pointing at the notice.

"It's nothing," Hailey said. "Lisa Turpin thinks that I'm lying about Voldemort's return."

"Of course she does," Michael said as they left the common room.

"It's fine," Mandy said. "I think Dumbledore said that You-Know-Who's gift was spreading chaos and enmity."

"Oh, yeah, there's that," Michael said. "I think he said something about fighting it by showing an equally strong bond of trust and friendship, too."

"Let's get something to eat," Hailey said.

* * *

When they got to the foot of the marble staircase, Hermione and Ron were waiting. There was a line of fourth-year Ravenclaws was crossing the Entrance Hall. When they caught sight of Hailey, they formed a tighter group, as if they thought she was going to attack them just for straggling.

"Yes, we should listen to the Sorting Hat and make friends with people like that," Hailey said sarcastically.

Hermione started, "Well Dumbledore said—"

"I know what Dumbledore said," Hailey snapped, "Something about being united and being friends."

They walked in the Great Hall, looking at the staff table, but Professor Grubbly-Plank was chatting to Professor Sinistra, who was the Astronomy teacher. Hagrid wasn't there and Hailey noticed that the enchanted ceiling seemed to reflect her mood, because it was cloudy.

"Dumbledore didn't mention how long Hagrid's going to be out," Mandy said as they went to their respective tables.

"Or how long Grubbly-Plank is substituting," Michael said.

"Hopefully it won't be to long," Mandy said tapping her fingers on the table. After a minute of that, she spread some marmalade on some toast.

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages. Hailey almost cringed as she got water sprinkled on her. It was apparently raining hard outside.

Hedwig wasn't seen, but she wasn't surprised, considering she had seen Sirius the previous day.

Mandy moved her plate to the side as a barn owl landed on the table, which was carrying a sodden _Daily Prophet_.

"What are you still getting that for?" asked Hailey irritated. "It's nothing but rubbish and lies."

Mandy placed a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg and it took off. "It's best to know what the enemy is saying so we can be prepared for the worst." With that, she opened the _Daily Prophet_ as Michael and Hailey looked at each other.

After they finished eating, Mandy finally looked up. She had smeared marmalade on her face, from when she smacked her toast into it, to distracted by her reading. "There's nothing in here about you or Dumbledore. So that's good. They haven't gotten creative enough to come up with some lies today."

Professor Flitwick was coming up the table passing out timetables.

Hailey thanked Flitwick as she grabbed hers. "At least we have Divination today."

"Yeah, but we have Charms, double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Double Potions, and History of Magic…" Mandy said groaning, "Kill me now, because I don't want to deal with Umbridge, Snape, and Binns."

"I wonder what Fred and George are talking to about over there with Hermione and Ron," Michael said.

Hailey turned to see that Fred and George were speaking to the two Gryffindors. She shrugged, "Don't know."

Fred and George walked away, carrying stacks of toast.

"I guess we better get to Charms," Michael said. With that they got up and headed to Charms.

After Charms, they went to join Ron and Hermione under a dripping balcony. A fine misty drizzle was falling, and Hailey saw people huddling around the edges of the yard. They looked blurry.

"Hello, Hailey!" It was Malachi Lovelace, the boy Hailey had taken to the Yule Ball last year. He also played Seeker on the Gryffindor team, but he was a year above her. She just smiled and waved at him. He was walking with his two friends, Corey and Ciara.

Ron had taken Ciara to the Yule Ball. Ciara turned to look and Ron ducked behind Michael.

"Are you still embarrassed over taking her to the Yule Ball?" Mandy asked.

"All she did was complain about how her boyfriend dumped her a week before the Yule Ball," Ron said.

"It was a rude thing to do," Mandy pointed out.

"She wanted to dance and go near him so she can rub it in his face that she moved on, too," Ron said.

"Well, she was probably bitter," Mandy said. "I would be too. I would probably do the same thing."

Ron looked at her, "No, you wouldn't."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mandy asked shrilly.

"You probably would've kicked your ex-boyfriend in the shin if he did what 'Thomas' had done to her," Ron said.

"Well, yeah," Mandy said nodding, "That is true, but still. I would still try to rub it in like she would."

"So, what do you have next?" Michael asked.

"We have double Potions," Hermione said.

"I wonder what he has in store for us," Hailey muttered. "Probably something difficult to catch us all off guard."

The bell rang and they went in separate directions, the Ravenclaws to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the Gryffindors went to Snape's dungeon.

When they got to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Professor Umbridge was already at the teacher's desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan from the previous evening before, and had on a black velvet bow on the top of her head.

Everything seemed quiet as they entered the room. When they sat down, Umbridge said, "Well, good afternoon!"

A few people mumbled 'good afternoon,' including Michael who was sitting next to her.

Professor Umbridge tutted, "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they said back.

"There, now," stated Umbridge in a sweet tone. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Hailey and Michael looked at each other. Putting away their wands had never been followed by a lesson that they found interesting. Umbridge opened her handbag and pulled out a rather short wand. She tapped the blackboard with it and words appeared:

 _Defense Against the Dark Arts  
_ _A Return to Basic Principles_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" asked Professor Umbridge, as she turned to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your best far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please," she tapped the blackboard and first message vanished, being replaced by:

 _Course aims:_

 _1\. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.  
_ _2\. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.  
_ _3\. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

The room was quiet as the class wrote down what was on the board.

After everything was written, Umbridge asked, "Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

There were murmurs of agreement through the class.

"I think we'll try that again," said Professor Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, 'Yes, Professor Umbridge', or 'No, Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," they said.

"Good," replied Professor Umbridge. "I should like you to turn to page five and read 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk." She left the blackboard and settled in the chair behind the teacher's desk. She started to watch them all.

Hailey found herself staring Umbridge in the eye.

"Do you have a problem?" Professor Umbridge asked in that sickening sweet tone.

"No," Hailey said. "I mean, no Professor Umbridge." With that she turned to page five and started to read.

She found herself reading the same few words repeatedly and then a piece of parchment slowly slid onto her book, blocking out the words she was repeatedly reading.

She slowly opened it and flattened it down. She read it, which was a lot more interesting than the book she was reading.

 _This is so boring._

Hailey had to put her chin in her hand and covered her mouth her palm to hide her smile. She hoped it looked like she was still reading the world's dullest book ever. She wrote a reply and hoped that it looked like she was taking notes.

 _I know._

She slowly passed it over to Michael, hoping that Umbridge didn't think that they were passing notes.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" Umbridge asked startling Hailey.

"Not about the chapter, no," said Sue

"Well, we're reading just now," stated Professor Umbridge, baring her small pointed teeth. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a question about the course aims," replied Sue.

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows, "And your name is?"

"Sue Li," replied Sue.

"Well, Miss Li, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," replied Professor Umbridge in a sweet voice.

"There's nothing about defensive spells up there," Sue replied bluntly.

Hailey looked at the blackboard. Of course there wasn't.

"'Defensive spells?'" Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to _use_ a defensive spell, Miss Li. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

Hailey didn't get it. What about outside of class? Like out there in the real world?

"So we're not going to use magic?" Stephan Cornfoot asked loudly.

Umbridge started, "Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr—?"

"Cornfoot," Stephan said. Hailey turned to see that he had stuck his hand in the air. "What about—"

Mandy, Michael, and Sue had their hands in the air.

"Yes, Miss Li? You wanted to ask something else?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"Isn't the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to _practice_ defensive spells?" Sue asked.

"Are you a Ministry-trained education expert, Miss Li?" Asked Professor Umbridge, in the fake sweet voice.

"Well, no," Li started, "Are y—?"

"Well, then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is," Professor Umbridge stated. "Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devise our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way—"

"What use is that?" demanded Hailey growing agitated. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a—"

"Hand, Miss Potter!" interrupted Professor Umbridge is a sing-song voice.

Hailey threw her hand in the air, however Professor Umbridge turned away from her. Hailey noticed that more people were raising their hands.

Professor Umbridge turned to Michael. "And your name is?"

"Michael Corner," Michael replied.

"Well, Mr Corner?" prompted Umbridge.

"Well, we won't be risk free if we get attacked," Michael said.

"I repeat," started Professor Umbridge, smiling at him as if Michael was a five year old, "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"Well, no," Michael said, "but—"

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school," Professor Umbridge interrupted.

Michael did some weird hand motion and slumped back in his seat.

"But you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed—not to mention," she gave a nasty laugh, "Extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"Don't you dare talk about Professor Lupin like that," Mandy said, sounding very angry.

Professor Umbridge started, "Hand, Miss—"

"Brocklehurst!" Mandy snapped, "Professor Lupin was the best professor we ever—"

"Hand Miss Brocklehurst!" snapped Professor Umbridge. "As I was saying—you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are like to meet Dark attacks every other day—"

"We haven't been 'frightened,'" Sue interrupted. "We just—"

"Your hand is not up, Miss Li!" Professor Umbridge exclaimed.

Sue quickly raised her hand, but the professor looked away from her.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you," Professor Umbridge stated.

"Well, he turned out to be a Death Eater," said Michael, "but either way, we learned loads from him."

"Your hand is not up, Mr Corner," trilled Professor Umbridge. "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which after all, is what school is all about." Padma raised her hand and Professor Umbridge looked at her, "And your name is?"

"Padma Patil," replied Padma. "There's a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL? We're supposed to show that we can do counter-curses and things like that."

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," replied Professor Umbridge in a dismissive manner.

"Without practicing them?" asked Padma, sounding incredulous. "Are you saying that the first time we'll do spells will be during our exam?"

Professor Umbride said, "I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough—"

"And what good will the theory be out in the real world?" asked Hailey loudly her hand in the air again.

Professor Umbridge looked up at Hailey. "This is school, Miss Potter, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for the real world?" demanded Mandy her hand in the air.

"This is nothing waiting out there, Miss Brocklehurst," Professor Umbridge said.

"What about Kappas, Kelpies, werewolves, vampires," Mandy started standing up with her hand in the air. "What are we supposed to do then?"

"Sit down, Miss Brocklehurst," Professor Umbridge said. Once Mandy sat down, Professor Umbridge asked, "Why do you imagine they want to attack children like you?"

"A Kelpie dragged me underwater at a lake when I was five," Michael said. "Is that not good enough?"

"Hand Mr. Corner!" snapped Umbridge.

"What about Lord Voldemort?" asked Hailey her hand in the air.

Anthony Goldstein inhaled sharply and Lisa sighed.

Professor Umbridge looked satisfied as she looked at Hailey. "Ten points from Ravenclaw, Miss Potter."

Everything was silent.

Umbridge stood up, her hands placed on her desk. She leaned forward, "Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead—"

"He wasn't dead, but yeah, he's returned!" Hailey snapped.

"Miss Potter, you have already lost your house ten points, do not make matters worse for yourself," said Professor Umbridge quickly. She didn't even look at Hailey. "As I was saying, you have been informed that certain Dark wizard is a large once again. This is a lie."

"It is _not_ a lie!" exclaimed Hailey. "I saw him and I fought him!"

"Detention, Miss Potter!" exclaimed Professor Umbridge sounding triumphant. "Tomorrow evening, five o'clock, my office." She addressed the class. "I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"

Umbridge say down behind her desk, but Hailey stood up.

"Hailey, no!" Michael whispered in a warning tone. He tugged at her sleeve, but Hailey remained standing.

"So, Cedric Diggory just dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" asked Hailey, her voice shaking. She was angry.

There was an intake of breath from the class, because none of them, apart from Mandy, Michael, Ron, and Hermione, heard Hailey talk about what happened on the night of Cedric's death.

Umbridge was staring right at Hailey, not even giving a fake smile. She spoke in a cold voice, "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

"It wasn't an accident," Hailey said, "It was murder." She hardly spoke to anyone else, least of all, a bunch of eagerly listening classmates. "Voldemort killed him and you know it."

Professor Umbridge was stoic and for a moment, Hailey thought that Umbridge was going to yell at her. However, in the softest, most sickening sweet, girlish sounding voice, Umbridge said, "Come here, Miss Potter, dear."

Hailey kicked her chair aside, as she went up to the teacher's desk. It seemed like the rest of the class was holding their breath. She was so angry that she didn't care what was going to happen.

Professor Umbridge pulled out a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag and stretched it out on the desk. She dipped her quill into a bottle of ink and wrote on the parchment. She had hunched over so Hailey couldn't read what was being written down. No one spoke and after a minute, Umbridge rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand, which sealed itself so that Hailey couldn't open it.

"Take this to Professor Flitwick, dear," said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to Hailey.

Hailey took it from her and turned on her heel. She left the room, not even looking back at Michael or Mandy. She slammed the classroom door shut behind her and walked very fast along the corridor. She walked along the corridor and turned, running into Peeves the poltergeist. Peeves was a wide-mouth little man, floating on his back in midair and juggling several inkwells.

"Why, it's Potty Wee Potter!" cackled Peeves, allowing two inkwells to fall to the ground, which smashed on the ground and spattered the walls with ink. Hailey jumped backwards to avoid getting hit with ink.

"Get out of it, Peeves," Hailey demanded.

"Ooh, Crackpot's feeling cranky," said Peeves, pursuing Hailey along the corridors. He was leering as he flew along above her. "What is it this time, my fine Potty friend? Hearing voices? Seeing visions? Speaking in—" Peeves did a giant raspberry, "— _tongues?_ "

"I said leave me _alone_!" Hailey shouted, running down the nearest flight of stairs, but Peeves slid down the banister on his back beside Hailey.

That's when he burst into song:

 _"Oh, most think she's barking, the potty wee lass,  
_ _But some are more kindly and think she's just sad,  
_ _But Peevesy knows better and says that she's mad—"_

"Shut up!" Hailey shouted.

A door to her right opened and Professor Flitwick emerged from his office. He was looking confused.

"Why are you shouting, Potter?" Flitwick asked as Peeves cackled gleefully. He flew out of sight. "Oh, Peeves," he muttered. He looked at Hailey. "Why aren't you in class?"

"I've been sent to see you," replied Hailey stiffly.

"What have you done to be sent to me?" Flitwick asked.

Hailey held the roll to Flitwick, who took it.

Flitwick opened the roll with his wand. He stretched it out and read it. With each line, his eyes seemed to narrow. He said, "Come on in, Potter."

Hailey followed him into the study and the door closed automatically behind them.

"Well?" asked Flitwick, sitting down behind his desk. "Is this true?"

"Is what true?" Hailey asked a little more harshly than she intended. "Professor?" she added, to sound more polite.

"Did you shout at Professor Umbridge?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes," replied Hailey.

"And you called her a liar?" continued Flitwick.

"Yes," replied Hailey a little uncomfortable.

"And you told her that You-Know-Who has returned?" Flitwick asked.

"Yes," said Hailey, growing a little confused.

"Have a cupcake, Potter," stated Flitwick.

"Have a—what?" asked Hailey confused.

"Have a cupcake," Flitwick repeated motioning to a tin that was on the desk.

Hailey took a cupcake, feeling more confused. Flitwick looked down at the note, looking very serious as he looked back up at Hailey. "Potter, I expect you to be more careful."

Hailey swallowed her mouthful of cupcake and looked at Flitwick. "What do you mean?"

"Misbehaving in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you more than house points and a detention," Flitwick said.

Hailey frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Potter, use common sense," said Flitwick. "You know where she comes from and you must know to whom she is reporting to."

"The Ministry," Hailey mumbled and Flitwick nodded.

The bell rang and there were the loud sounds of hundreds of students moving.

"It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow," Flitwick said, looking back at the note again.

"Every evening this week!" Hailey repeated, horrified.

Flitwick nodded grimly. "You will go to her room at five o'clock tomorrow for the first one. I want you to remember, be careful around Dolores Umbridge."

"But I was telling the truth!" replied Hailey, outrage. "Voldemort is back, you know he is, Professor Dumbledore knows he is—"

"Calm down, Potter," Flitwick said. He had winced heavily at the name. "Do you really think that this is about being truthful or lying? You have to keep your head down and keep your temper under control."

Hailey couldn't say anything.

"Take another cupcake," Flitwick said, holding the tin to her.

"No, thanks," replied Hailey.

Flitwick set it to the side.

"Did you listen to Dolores Umbridge's speech at the start-of-term feast, Potter?" asked Flitwick.

"Yes," replied Hailey. "She said…progress will be prohibited or…well…it meant that the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts."

"Yes," Flitwick said. He got up and went to open the door for Hailey. "Well, you got class. I don't want to make you late."

Hailey hurried out.

* * *

Divination was Hailey's least favourite class, which was because Professor Trelawney had a habit of predicting her death every few lessons.

Trelawny was a thin woman, draped in shawls and beaded necklaces. She reminded Hailey of some kind of insect, with her glasses magnifying her eyes. She was putting copies of battered leather-bound books on the spindly tables.

The light was cast by lamps covered by scarves and there was a low-burning, sickly-scented fire. She sat down next to Mandy.

"What happened?" Mandy asked.

"I have detention every evening for the week, starting tomorrow at five o'clock," Hailey said.

"Damn," Mandy said. "I think Michael was looking forward to doing homework with you."

Hailey shrugged, "I suppose."

"Second day back after not seeing each other all summer, and you have detention tomorrow," Mandy said.

The rest of the class appeared over the next five minutes. Ron appeared, looked around, spotted Mandy and Hailey, and went to them, wending around between tables, chairs, and overstuffed pouffes.

"Hailey has detention for the week," Mandy said.

"What did you do?" Ron asked Hailey, looking surprised.

"Yelled at her, called her a liar, and told her that Voldemort was back," Hailey said.

Mandy and Ron flinched at the name.

"Wow," said Ron.

"She wasn't teaching anything," Hailey said. "Just had us read page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"

"Hermione's not going to like that," Ron said.

"Good-day," said Professor Trelawney in her usual misty, dreamy voice. "And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely—as, of course, I knew you would.

"You will find on the tables before you, copies of _The Dream Oracle_ by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your OWL. Not, of course, that I believe examination passes or failures are of the remotest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the Headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so…" She trailed off and Hailey was sure that Professor Trelawney considered her subject more important than exams.

"Turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then, divide into pairs. Use _The Dream Oracle_ to interpret each other's more recent dreams. Carry on."

At least it wasn't a double period. When they finished reading the introduction of the book, they barely had ten minutes left for dream interpretation. At the next table, Dean and Neville had paired up. Mandy ended up pairing with Padma Patil.

Neville had gone on about a nightmare involving a pair of giant scissors wearing his grandmother's best hat.

"I never remember my dreams," said Ron. "You say one."

"You must remember one of them," said Hailey, impatient. She didn't want to share her dreams with anyone, because she knew what her reoccurring nightmare about a graveyard meant. She didn't need Ron or Professor Trelawney or the stupid Dream Oracle to tell her.

"Well, I dream I was playing Quidditch the other night," said Ron, screwing up his face to try and remember. "What d'you reckon that means?"

Hailey turned the pages of _The Dream Oracle_ as an attempt to look busy. "Probably that you're going to be eaten by a giant marshmallow or something." It was even more duller than the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. At least it Defense Against the Dark Arts was entertaining having a bunch of Ravenclaws call out how they were supposed to learn defense spells and it was amusing how Professor Umbridge looked like she was slipping control of the class.

Hailey wasn't cheered up when they were assigned the task of keeping a dream diary for a month as homework. When the bell went, Ron, Hailey, and Mandy led the way back down the ladder, with Ron grumbling loudly as they headed to the Great Hall for lunch.

"D'you realize how much homework we've got already? Binns set us a foot-and-a-half long essay on giant wars, Snape wants a foot on the use of moonstones, and now we've got a month's dream diary from Trelawney! Fred and George weren't wrong about O.W.L. years, were they?" Ron ranted.

"What were Fred and George saying?" asked Mandy.

Ron explained how Fred and George overheard him saying he wished they would finish off their Skiving Snackboxes, and they expressed shock at how a prefect said it. Then Fred offered him a Nosebleed Nougat, cheap, because he'll continue bleeding till he shriveled up, and the Weasley twins haven't created an antidote yet.

Hermione had told the Weasley twins that they can't advertise in the Gryffindor common because she and Ron were prefects.

Then Fred said that before long, Hermione would be begging them for a Snackbox, because fifth year's O.W.L. year, which meant that they had exams coming up, so the professors will be making them work hard. George said that half of their year had minor breakdowns, which included tears, tantrums, and someone kept fainting. Apparently they decided to skip their last year and open their joke shop, but Hermione suspected they had gold, because they said something cryptic like, 'ask us no questions, and we'll tell you no lies.' Ron agreed with Hermione on that, because they bought Ron some new dress robes. Hailey pretended to be fascinated by the moving pictures.

When they got to lunch, Michael looked at Hailey. "What happened?"

"Umbridge gave me a week of detention every evening," Hailey said. She looked at the ceiling to see that the sky was darker than it had been in the morning. Rain was lashing the high windows.

"All because you called her a liar and told her that You-Know-Who is back?" Michael asked and Hailey nodded. "It was really brave of you to stand up to her."

Hailey smiled and she heard Mandy pretend to retch. Michael and Hailey both turned to look at her.

Mandy smiled and said, "Just Potions and History of Magic to get through and this day will be over."

* * *

When lunch was over, they headed to Potions class.

The door creaked open and they headed inside. Michael, Mandy, and Hailey sat down at the table in the back, with Hailey in the middle.

"Settle down," said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him. There was no reason for Snape to call order, because when the door closed, everything went silent.

"Before we begin today's lesson," started Snape, sweeping over to his desk, and staring at them. "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June, you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. I expect you to scrape an "Acceptable" in your OWL, or suffer my…" he paused and Hailey expected him to say, 'wrath' but Snape said, "displeasure," instead.

Snape continued, "After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me. I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye."

Hailey noticed how Snape looked at her and she saw how his lip curled. Hailey glared back, feeling a bit satisfied at how she would be able to give up Potions after fifth year.

"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly. "So, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level; the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing. The ingredients and method," Snape flicked his wand, "—are on the blackboard. You will find everything you need," he flicked his wand again, "in the store cupboard," the door sprang open. "You have an hour and a half…start."

It was difficult, just like they predicted. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise and then in anti-clockwise directions, the heat of the flames had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added.

"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion," called Snape, when there was ten minutes before they could go.

Hailey looked at her cauldron, which was issuing copious amounts of dark grey steam. Mandy's and Michael's cauldrons were shimmering mists of silver vapour. When Snape looked down at their cauldrons, he didn't have anything to say, which meant that he didn't find anything to criticize.

But when Snape saw Hailey's cauldron, he smirked, and asked, "Potter, what is this supposed to be?"

The Slytherins at the front of the class all looked up, because they loved hearing Snape taunt Hailey.

It was strange how she thought she might have a good day, went straight to hell after dealing with Umbridge, then a semi-okay class with Trelawney, and then everything went to hell again.

"The Draught of Peace," said Hailey.

"Tell me, Potter," said Snape softly, "Can you read?"

Draco Malfoy laughed.

"Yes, I can," said Hailey, gripping her wand.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter," said Snape.

Hailey squinted at the blackboard, which wasn't easy to make out through multi-coloured steam that was filling the dugeon.

"' _Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore,_ " Hailey read.

She didn't add syrup of hellebore, but went to the fourth line of instructions, but it wasn't really her fault. She was busy dreading detention with Umbridge.

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?" asked Snape.

"No," said Hailey. She just wanted to get this over with.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Snape.

"No, I forgot the hellebore," said Hailey.

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless," Snape said. He flicked his wand at Hailey's cauldron, " _Evanesce_."

The contents of Hailey's potion vanished and she was left standing beside an empty cauldron.

Snape addressed the class, "Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill an flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."

While everyone around her filled their flagons, Hailey cleared away her things. She was sure that she wasn't the only one who's potion turned out bad, but she was the one that was receiving zero marks for the day's work. She stuffed her wand in her bag and slumped down on her seat, watching everyone else march up to Snape's desk with their filled and corked flagons.

When the bell rang, Hailey was the first one out of the dungeon. She hurried over to History of Magic and surprised the ghost when she ran through him in a bid to get to her seat.

When Mandy and Michael showed up, Mandy went to sit behind Hailey. "Snape's an ass; don't let him get to you."

"Yeah," Michael said, "Crabbe's potion was green, and when Goyle put his potion in the flagon, the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire."

"Yeah, well, since when has Snape ever been fair to me?" Hailey asked glaring at her parchment.

Michael took Hailey's hand and squeezed it to reassure her. "It was just one assignment. You have loads of assignments to make up for it."

"I guess you have a point," Hailey said.

There was silence and they both turned around to see that Mandy was miming poking her eye out with her quill. Mandy smiled, "Just kidding. You two are adorable together."

And the bell rang, and with that, Professor Binns lectured them on giant wars.


	13. Detention with Dolores

A/N: Sorry for the long break. My internet had turned off and I don't use Google docs, and the library doesn't support the website.

* * *

Hailey wasn't surprised that the news about her shouting match with Umbridge traveled quickly. At dinner, people whispered to each other when she sat between Michael and Mandy at the Ravenclaw table, though no one seemed to care that she overheard them. It seemed as though they wanted her to get angry and yell at them, so that they can either hear the story first-hand or see her 'madness' in person.

"She claims that she saw Cedric Diggory get murdered…"

"She believes she dueled You-Know-Who…"

"Who does she think she's kidding?"

"Why do they all of a sudden think that I'm a nutter?" Hailey asked.

"Let's get out of here," Michael said.

Mandy looked at her cake and got up to follow them as they left. Mandy sighed and said, "You arrived back in the middle of the lawn holding Cedric's dead body…we didn't see what happened in the maze."

"All we had was Dumbledore's word that You-Know-Who came back, killed Cedric, and fought you," Michael added.

"Which is the truth!" exclaimed Hailey.

"I know that, so don't yell at me," Michael said.

"Sorry for yelling at you," Hailey muttered.

"It's okay," Michael replied.

"Then everyone went home for the summer, before the truth could sink in. They then spent two months reading about how you're going mental and Dumbledore's going senile," Mandy stated.

"Even though I never really did anything 'mental,' Hailey muttered. Michael and Mandy looked out the nearest window to see that a light wasn't on at Hagrid's house.

They got to the Ravenclaw common room door and Mandy knocked once using the knocker.

After answering the riddle, they walked in. Hailey noticed how some Ravenclaws looked up, and how they looked away quickly. Luna and Colton both smiled and waved at Hailey, before looking back to their homework.

The three sat down at a table and unloaded their homework.

After a bit, Mandy slammed her quill on the table, nearly knocking over her velvet red ink well, and said, "I can't believe this."

It almost startled Hailey, who was trying to focus on her homework and not on the fact that Michael had hooked his foot around hers.

Hailey blinked and asked, "That moonstone can do that in potion making?"

"No, that Dumbledore allowed Umbridge to teach us. Especially in our OWL year," Mandy said.

"Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?" asked Hailey.

"Well, besides Professor Lupin," said Michael, "Yeah, one had You-Know-Who on the back of his head, another was a Death Eater, and another was a fraud."

"Hagrid told us that nobody wants the job because they say it's jinxed," said Hailey.

"But hiring someone who won't let us do magic? Hell, is forcing us to spy on each other?" Mandy said, "Who the hell is he playing at?"

"More like what Fudge is playing at," Michael muttered.

"Making sure that I'm mental, Dumbledore's going senile, and that Voldemort isn't back because he doesn't want to deal with it," Hailey said. She packed up things, "I'm going to bed." She stooped down and kissed Michael good night, before heading up to the dorm room.

* * *

The next morning, Ron talked to Michael and Mandy in private, before breakfast. Hailey could barely pay attention in classes, knowing that she had detention with Umbridge.

They had double Transfiguration the next morning. Professor McGonagall lectured them about how they can't pass an OWL without serious application, practice, and study. She said that she couldn't see why nobody in the class shouldn't achieve an OWL and then had them start Vanishing Spells, which were easier than Conjuring spells, which they wouldn't attempt until NEWT level.

McGonagall was right, because by the end of the double period, Hailey managed to make the shell of the snails, which they had to practice on, vanish.

She was the only one who ended up having to do homework, which was to practice the spell.

They had double Charms was where they revised some other Charms, which Flitwick said was bound to come up in their OWL, and rounded off the lesson with a large amount of Charms homework.

They had Care of Magical Creatures next, which they walked down to Hagrid's hut, which was at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione and Michael had talked about Ancient Runes, and had seemed to avoid speaking to Ron all the way to Hagrid's hut.

"Hey, so what happened between you and Hermione?" Mandy asked having noticed that Hermione and Ron had avoided speaking to each other all the way to class.

"She got mad that I said that the hats that she knitted looked like woolly bladders," Ron said.

Hailey was confused, "Hats?"

"They're for house-elves," Hermione said. "I made[ them over the summer. I'm a really slow knitter without magic, but now I'm back at school I should be able to make lots more.

"Don't," Hailey started noticing how Ron opened his mouth to speak. She had a headache all day and didn't want to deal with the two Gryffindors argue.

Professor Grubbly-Plank was waiting for the class ten yards from Hagrid's front door. There was a table in front of her which was laden with twigs.

When they reached her, there was a loud shout of laughter behind them.

"I don't have to turn around to see that it was Malfoy and his 'friends.'" Mandy said using air quotes around friends. "I think Malfoy's dad is paying them to be friends with him."

Hailey, Ron, and Michael chuckled at that. Even Hermione looked like she was trying to fight a smile.

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson sniggered at they gather around the trestle table.

Hailey noticed how they all kept looking at her and she knew that she was the subject of the joke. She rolled her eyes.

"Everyone here?" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank once the Slytherins, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs arrived.

"Terry and Anthony aren't here," Michael said looking around.

Hailey looked at the twigs and saw that a few of the twigs were moving around.

"Okay, now, let's crack on then," Grubbly-Plank stated when the two boys arrived, looking out of breath. "Who can tell me what these things are called?"

The Ravenclaws', Hermione's, and a few Hufflepuffs' hands shot in the air. Hailey noticed how Malfoy did an imitation of Hermione jumping up and down. Pansy laughed and Mandy did a rude gesture at the two Slytherins, right behind Grubbly-Plank's back.

Pansy's shriek of laughter turned high pitched as she nearly screamed when the twigs jumped in the air. The twigs looked like tiny pixie-looking creatures that were made of wood. They had knobbly brown arms and legs, with two twig-like fingers at the end of each hands and a flat, barklike face with beetle-brown eyes.

"Ooh," Parvati and Lavender said, acting as if Hagrid hadn't shown them more impressive creatures. Sure the Flobberworms had been dull, but salamanders and hippogriffs were interesting. However the Blast-Ended Skrewts were too much to handle.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" ordered Professor Grubbly-Plank sharply, scattering a handful of brown rice among the stick-creatures, who fell upon the food. "So—anyone know the names of these creatures?" She looked around at the Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs. "Mr Finch-Fletchley?"

"They're Bowtruckles," stated Justin Finch-Fletchley. "They live in wand-trees and are tree-guardians."

"Five points for Hufflepuff," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. Hailey lowered her hand. "Yes, these are Bowtruckles and as Mr Finch-Fletchley rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

Mandy threw her hand in the air and Professor Grubbly-Plank called on her. "Woodlice, but they also eat fairy eggs, if they can get them."

"Five points for Ravenclaw," Professor Grubbly-Plank said. "So, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a Bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So, if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a Bowtruckle—I have enough here for one between three—you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labeled by the end of the lesson."

They surged forward around the trestle table. Hailey maneuvered around the back so that she was next to Professor Grubbly-Plank. Hailey watched everyone chose Bowtruckles, and she asked, "Do you know where Hagrid's at?"

"Never you mind," replied the professor curtly.

Malfoy obviously heard because he was smirking, and in an undertone, loud enough for Hailey to hear, said, "Maybe the stupid great oaf's got himself badly injured."

"Maybe you'll get badly injured if you don't shut the hell up," replied Hailey quietly as she walked by him.

"Maybe he's been messing with stuff that too _big_ for him, if you get my drift," Malfoy replied walking away, smirking at Hailey again.

Hailey suddenly felt sick. What did Malfoy know? Since Lucius Malfoy was a Death Malfoy, did he know something about Hagrid that the Order of the Phoenix hasn't? She hurried to where her friends were. They were trying to get a Bowtruckle to remain still long enough so they can be able to draw it.

Hailey pulled out some parchment and a quill. She crouched down at their little group and whispered to them what Malfoy said.

"Dumbledore would know if anything bad happened to Hagrid," Mandy said speaking over Hermione.

"It's just playing into Malfoy's hands to look worried," Hermione said, after glaring at Mandy for interrupting her. "It tells him we don't know exactly what's going on. We've got to ignore him, Hailey." She grabbed the Bowtruckle and handed it to Hailey, "Here, hold the Bowtruckle for a moment, just so I can draw its face…"

Hailey took the creature.

"Besides, isn't Hagrid on some top secret mission that Dumbledore put him on?" Michael asked. "I thought it was a top secret mission."

"Yes, Father was talking to the Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on sub-standard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron does show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straightaway," Malfoy said.

"You're going to hurt it," Michael said, prying Hailey's fingers so she can release the Bowtruckle before it hurt her.

Crabbe and Goyle were laughing at Malfoy said.

"Do they really find him funny or does Malfoy's dad pay them to laugh at Malfoy's 'jokes?'" Mandy asked.

"Or are they really that stupid?" asked Ron.

The bell echoed distantly over the grounds and the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors made their way to Herbology.

Hailey was seething, "If he called Hagrid a moron one more time, I'm going to punch him in the eyes."

"Hailey, don't go picking a row with Malfoy," Hermione started. "Don't forget, he's a prefect now, he can make life difficult for you…"

"Gee, I wonder what it'd be like to have a difficult life," said Hailey sarcastically. Ron and Mandy laughed at that

"I just wish Hagrid would hurry up and get back, that's all," started Hailey in a low voice as they reached the greenhouses. "And don't say that Grubbly-Plank woman's a better teacher!"

"I wasn't going to," Hermione said in a calm tone.

"Because she'll never be as good as Hagrid," stated Hailey firmly, but she was fully aware that she had a good Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

The door of the nearest greenhouse opened and some fourth-years spilled out, including Ginny.

"Hi," greeted Ginny as she walked by. A few seconds later, Luna and Colton emerged trailing behind the rest of the class. There was a smudge of earth on her nose and her hair was tied in a knot on the top of head. Colton had dirt on his chin and kilt.

They smiled at her and waved, or at least Hailey thought that Colton waved at her, he could've waved at Stephan, since she was sure that those two were dating.

"I forgot to tell you, I believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back and I believe you fought him and escaped from him," Luna said to Hailey. "Colton believes you, too."

"Er—right," Hailey said feeling awkward. She noticed that Luna was wearing what looked to be a pair of orange radishes for earrings. Parvati and Lavender were pointing at Luna's earlobes and giggling.

"You can laugh, but people used to believe there were no such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"

"Well, they were right, weren't they?" asked Hermione impatiently. "There weren't any such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Luna gave Hermione a withering look, "Come on, Colton." She grabbed Colton's arm and dragged him away.

Parvati and Lavender, among a few other Gryffindors were laughing now.

Hailey looked at Hermione, "D'you mind not offending the only people who believe me?" They made their way into class.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Hailey. You can do better than Luna," said Hermione. "Ginny's told me all about her. Apparently she'll believe in things as long as there's no proof at all. Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from someone whose father runs _The Quibbler_."

"She's not _that_ bad," Mandy said.

When they got at their spots for the lesson, Professor Sprout started it by lecturing them about the importance of OWLs. Hailey was beginning to get anxious every time she remembered her large amount of homework that she still had to do. At the end of class, Professor Sprout gave them an essay for homework. Tired and smelling like dragon dung, they trooped back up to the castle an hour and a half later.

"This is going to be one of those long days," Mandy said and groaned.

Since Hailey had her first detention with Umbridge starting at five, she headed to dinner, without even bothering dropping her bag off. She had barely reached the entrance of the Great Hall, when Roger Davies, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team stopped her. Mandy, Michael, Hermione, and Ron were there with her.

"Hey, Quidditch practice is tomorrow at six," Roger said.

"I have detention tomorrow at five," Hailey responded.

"Maybe you can see if you get Umbridge to change that," Roger responded.

"There's Cho," Hailey pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't think she's in the right mindset of practicing, considering…" Roger had trailed off.

Hailey nodded, "Yeah." She had seen Cho around with Marietta Edgecomb. There were times that Cho looked fine but there were times when it seemed like Cho was going to start crying.

"All right, try to talk to Umbridge about moving your detention to a different timeslot," Roger said and went inside the Great Hall.

"I don't think Umbridge is going to reschedule detention to accommodate Quidditch practice." Mandy said sounding skeptical as they sat down.

"She might," Michael said. "You never know."

"The odds are less than zero," Hailey said, tipping lamb chops on to her plate and started to eat. "Better try, though. I hope she doesn't keep me too long. We need to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a counter-charm for Flitwick, finish the Bowtruckle drawing, and start that dream diary for Trelawney."

Mandy looked at up at the ceiling, "And to top it all off, it might rain."

Hailey frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," responded Mandy. "Just thought you should know."

* * *

When it was five to five, Hailey told Mandy goodbye and kissed Michael goodbye, and set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor.

When she knocked on the door, Hailey heard Umbrige's sugary voice call, "Come in."

Hailey entered cautiously and noticed how the surfaces were all draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each one residing on a doily. On the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each with a large kitten on it.

 _Have I died and entered hell?_ Hailey thought.

"Good evening, Miss Potter," Umbridge greeted.

Hailey looked around and finally spotted Umbridge sitting behind a lurid set of robes that had flowers patterns on it, which blended in way to well with the tablecloth on the desk that was behind Umbridge.

"Evening, Professor Umbridge," replied Hailey in a stiff tone.

"Well, sit down," stated Umbridge, pointing at a small table that was draped in lace beside a straight-backed chair. There was a blank piece of parchment on the table, waiting for Hailey.

Hailey told herself that it won't hurt to try. "Er, Professor Umbridge…er—before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a…a favour." She nearly winced at how she stuttered that out.

Umbridge's eyes narrowed at that. "Oh, yes?"

"Well, I'm…I'm in the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. And I was supposed to be practicing tomorrow, at six, and I was—was wondering if I could skip detention that night and do it—do it another night, instead…" She already knew that the answer was going to be a big, fat resounding no.

"Oh, no," said Umbridge, smiling so widely. "Oh, no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Miss Potter."

 _Oh, so the truth is considered evil and nasty? And I'm an attention-seeker?_ Hailey thought. It reminded her of Privet Drive, where she got in trouble regardless if she was lying or telling the truth.

Umbridge continued, "And punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you." She had her head tilted slightly and was smiling widely.

Hailey felt that Umbridge knew what she was thinking or Umbridge was waiting for Hailey to start yelling. With effort, she looked away and dropped down in the chair, and set her schoolbag beside it.

"There," said Umbridge, "We're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we?"

 _Who is this 'we' business?_ thought Hailey annoyed.

"No, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Miss Potter," Umbridge said. Hailey reached down to grab her bag. "No, not with your quill. You're going to be using a rather special one of mine." She opened her desk and then closed it. "Here you are." She handed Hailey a quill.

Hailey looked at it to see that it was a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point. She wondered what type of quill it was.

"I want you to write, ' _I must not tell lies,'_ " Umbridge said.

"How many times?" asked Hailey with a tone that was easily thought of as polite.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in_ ," responded Umbridge. She went to her desk and sat down. She leaned over a stack of parchment that was probably essays.

Hailey looked down at her blank parchment and looked at Umbridge. "You didn't give me any ink."

"Oh, you won't need ink," said Umbridge, sounding like she had a hint of a laugh in her voice.

Hailey looked back and wrote: _I must not tell lies_.

The words appeared on the parchment in what looked to be shining red ink. At the same time, the words appeared on the back of her hand, cut into her skin, which stung. Hailey stared at the words, even though the skin was healing over, though it was redder than usual. She turned to look at Umbridge, who was watching her.

Umbridge was smiling and she asked, "Yes?"

"Nothing," replied Hailey quietly and she turned back to the parchment. She wrote: _I must not tell lies_ , and felt the searing pain on the back of her hand again. The words had been cut into her skin and then healed over once again.

She looked at the ink on the parchment and at her hand.

 _You're one sick person,_ Hailey thought, realizing that she was writing in her own blood. She continued writing, the cut on the back of her hand healing and reappearing. She didn't ask when she would be allowed to stop, and didn't even bother checking her watch. She knew that Umbridge was watching her for signs of weakness, and Hailey wasn't going to show any. It was like a battle of wills and Hailey was to going to win the battle, even if she had to sit there all night.

"Come here," Umbridge said after what was probably hours.

Hailey stood up, her hand stinging painfully. She looked down to see the damage, but it was red raw.

"Hand," Umbridge said and Hailey held it out. Umbridge took it and Hailey repressed a shudder at the touch. Umbridge tutted, "I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet," she was smiling. "Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You may go."

Hailey left her office. The school was deserted, she was sure it was past midnight. She walked up the corridor and turned the corner. Once she was sure Umbridge wouldn't hear her, she ran.

She hadn't even got cracking down on her homework, so during the next morning, she skipped breakfast so she can write down made up dreams for Divination, which was their first lesson. She was surprised to see Mandy and Michael both looking disheveled. She was confused at them. Michael started in on some Ancient Runes homework and Mandy started in on the dream diary. "So, you both couldn't sleep or something?"

"Something like that," Mandy muttered as she wrote.

Hailey looked at Michael, who spoke, "It was Ron. He needed me to help him with something."

"There, that will do." Mandy said slamming the diary shut, before Hailey can ask what Ron needed help with. "I said that I was being chased by a book. What is the worst that she'll say about that?"

"That you probably have some book-phobia or something," Michael said.

With that, they hurried off to their classes.

"How did your detention go with Umbridge?" Mandy asked. "What did she make you do?"

Hailey wasn't sure why she didn't tell the truth, "Lines."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Mandy said.

Hailey shrugged.

"Did she let you off today so you can go to Quidditch practice?" Mandy asked.

"No," responded Hailey. They ran into Ron, who was looking equally disheveled. "Couldn't sleep?"

Ron muttered something and they continued on to Divination.

* * *

Hailey did poorly in Transfiguration, she had to give up the lunch hour to complete the picture of the Bowtruckle, although Michael had snagged some bread rolls for her for their next class. Professors McGonagall, Grubbly-Plank, and Sinistra had given them more homework, which Hailey knew she wouldn't complete because of the second detention with Umbridge.

At least Roger Davies understood but planned on having practice the next week.

"But at least she's making you do lines," Mandy said. "It's not that horrible."

Hailey wasn't sure why she wasn't telling the truth. Maybe she didn't want to see them look horrified, or maybe it was because she didn't want Umbridge to know that Hailey had complained about it, even though she was getting her hand sliced into by a quill.

* * *

The second detention was just as horrible as the previous one. The skin on the back of Hailey's hand got irritated quickly and was soon red and inflamed. Hailey thought that it was unlikely that it was going to keep healing. She was sure that the cut would be etched on her hand and hoped the Umbridge would be satisfied. She didn't want to gasp and let Umbridge know that the professor was getting to her.

Her homework situation was terrible. When she returned to the common room, she had opened her books and tried to finish Snape's moonstone essay, which she finished at half past two. She knew that she did a terrible job, but at least she wouldn't get detention. She had dashed off answers to the questions Professor McGonagall had given them, and slapped together something about proper Bowtruckle care for Grubbly-Plank. After that, she shuffled up to bed and threw herself down on her bed, falling asleep.

* * *

Thursday passed in a haze of tiredness. Ron, Mandy, and Michael seemed sleepy too. Maybe they stayed up late, attempting to do the homework load.

The third detention passed in the same way as the previous two, except 'I must not tell lies' didn't fade away, but remained scratched there, dripping droplets of blood. When the quill paused, Professor Umbridge looked up.

"Ah," said the professor moving over to examine Hailey's hand. "Good, that ought to serve as a reminder to you, oughtn't it? You may leave for tonight."

Hailey didn't bother asking if she had to show up tomorrow. She was sure that she still had too, anyway. She walked away, heading to the Ravenclaw Tower, she debated who she hated more, Snape or Umbridge.

Snape had the reason of hating her dad because he save Snape's life. Umbridge had no reason to act like this than out of pure—

"Ron?" exclaimed Hailey, as she spotted Ron lurking behind a statue of Lachlan the Lanky. Ron was clutching his broomstick. He jumped up, startled, and attempted to hide the Cleansweep Eleven behind his back.

"What are you doing?" asked Hailey confused.

"Er—nothing," Ron said. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Getting back from detention," responded Hailey. "So, why are you hiding behind a statue?"

"I'm—I'm hiding from Fred and George, if you must know," replied Ron. "They just went past with a bunch of first-years, I bet they're testing stuff on them again. I mean, they can't do it in the common room, now, not with Hermione there." He spoke in a fast way.

Hailey blinked and looked at the broom, "So, you've been flying or something?"

"I—well—well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh or get mad, all right?" said Ron in a defensive tone.

"I won't laugh," said Hailey. "And I won't get mad."

"All right," Ron said, taking a deep breath. "I—I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom." He looked at Hailey, "There. Go on. Laugh or get mad."

"I'm not laughing," responded Hailey. She added, "Or getting mad. I think it's brilliant!" She was being honest. "It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never see you play Keeper, are you good?"

"I'm not bad," said Ron looking relieved. "Charlie, Fred, and George always made me keep for them when they were training during the holidays."

"So, you've been out practicing?" asked Hailey.

"Every evening since Tuesday…Mandy and Michael were helping me. Michael bewitched Quaffles to fly at me, and Mandy sometimes threw the Quaffles at me from all angles, to help," Ron responded, as they started walking to their common rooms.

"That's nice of them to help," Hailey said.

"Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect."

Hailey felt a little bitter that she wasn't allowed to watch the tryouts because she'll be stuck in detention with Umbridge. "I wish I can be there." She pushed her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, so do—what is the on the back of your hand?" Ron started.

Hailey pulled her hand away, "Nothing."

Ron grabbed Hailey's forearm and pulled her hand eye-level. Ron looked sick. "I thought you said she just giving you lines?"

Hailey wasn't sure why she hesitated, but she did. Since Ron was honest with her, she wanted to be honest with him, so she told him about the hours she spent in Umbridge's office.

"That old hag!" Ron whispered, sounding revolted, when they came to a stop in front of the Fat Lady. "She's sick! Go to McGonagall or Flitwick, say something!"

"No," replied Hailey. "I'm not letting her be satisfied knowing that she's got to me."

"' _Got to you?_ '" Ron repeated, sounding incredulous. "You can't let her get away with this!"

"I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her," responded Hailey, "And I don't know about Flitwick either."

"Dumbledore, then," responded Ron. "Tell Dumbledore!"

"No," replied Hailey.

"Why not?" asked Ron.

"He's got enough on his mind," started Hailey. She didn't want to go to Dumbledore for help, especially not when he hadn't spoken to her since June.

Ron started, "Well, I reckon you should—"

"Are you going to give me the password or will I have to stay awake all night waiting for you to finish your conversation?" interrupted the Fat Lady.

Hailey said bye to Ron and hurried down the corridor to get to the Ravenclaw common room.

* * *

Friday was the same as the rest of the week. At least it was almost the weekend, so she can catch up on the pile of homework and it was the final detention with Umbridge. At least the window offered a distant view of the Quidditch pitch, and she might be able to see a bit of Ron's tryout.

At five in the evening, she knocked on Professor Umbridge's office and was told to enter. She walked in and went to the table. She picked up the quill and looked out the window. She had to shift the chair a little, looking like she pulled closer to the table, and looked out at the Quidditch pitch. She watched the Gryffindor Quidditch team fly up and down the pitch, while half a dozen people stood at the foot of the goalposts. She couldn't tell which one was Ron.

 _I must not tell lies_ , Hailey wrote. The cut in the back of her hand opened and began to bleed.

As she wrote, the cut dug deeper, stinging and hurting, blood trickling down her wrist.

She took a look out of the window to see that whoever was defending the goalposts was doing really terrible job, because someone scored twice in a row. Hailey hoped that it wasn't Ron who was being the Keeper. She looked back to her parchment, which was shining with blood. She continued writing.

She looked up whenever she thought that she could risk it, when she heard Umbridge's quill or the opening of a desk drawer. The third person to try out was pretty good, the fourth was terrible, and the fifth dodged a Bludger exceptionally well, but fumbled an easy save. The sky was darkening and Hailey was sure that she wouldn't spot the sixth and seventh people.

She continued writing and noticed the parchment was dotted with drops of blood, from her hand, which was searing with pain. The next time she looked up, night had fallen and the Quidditch pitch wasn't visible.

Half an hour later, Umbridge said, "Let's see if you've got the message yet, shall we?" She moved towards Hailey, stretching out her hand for Hailey's arm. When Umbridge took hold of Hailey's hand, pain seared across the scar on Hailey's forehead. Hailey had a strange sensation somewhere around her midriff.

Hailey pulled her hand away and jumped to her feet. She looked at Umbridge, who smiled back at her. "Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?"

Hailey couldn't answer, because she wasn't sure if Umbridge was talking about her hand or the scar on her forehead.

"Well, I think I've made my point, Miss Potter," continued Umbridge. "You may go."

Hailey took her schoolbag and left the room as quickly as she could. She told herself to stay calm as she sprinted up the stairs.


	14. Percy & Padfoot

A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus again. I just keep getting sidetracked by other things. I will try to finish this year.

Many thanks to Slytherclaw's idea in a review of _The Storm Approaches: Year 4_ , suggesting that Michael tries to keep something secret and Ron accidentally tells Hailey.

* * *

Hailey was the first to wake up in the dormitory the next morning. She lay there for a moment, watching the dust swirl in the ray of sunlight that was coming through the gap in the four-poster hangings. She was glad that it was Saturday because the first week of term seemed like it had dragged on.

She grabbed her bag and headed out of the dormitory to the common room. A few Ravenclaws were up and doing some homework. She sat down next to the window and took out a roll of parchment, an inkwell, and a quill. She wondered how she was supposed to write a letter without giving any letter-thieves anything incriminating. She stared at the parchment and then starting writing.

 _Dear Snuffles,_

 _Hope you're okay. The first week back has been terrible. I'm really glad it's the weekend._

 _We've got a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She's nearly as nice as your mum. I'm writing because that thing I wrote you about last summer happened again last night when I was doing detention with Umbridge._

 _We're all missing our biggest friend, we hope he'll be back soon._

 _Please write back._

 _Best,_

 _Hailey_

She reread the letter, trying to see what an outsider would think of it. She didn't want the other Ravenclaws to read it, because they'll think that she really is losing her mind. Well, more than they already think.

She hoped that Sirius would get the hint about Hagrid and tell her when Hagrid might be back, that was, if he knew about Hagrid going away.

She reread it one more time and noticed how sunlight was coming up. She was surprised because she wasn't expecting to take that long just to write her letter. She sealed it and before she can leave, she heard, "Where are you going?"

Hailey turned to see Michael standing there. She smiled at him, "I was going to the Owlery, to deliver a letter to…" She looked around at the other Ravenclaws and back at Michael, "A friend."

"I'll go with you," Michael said. The left the common room and headed down the circular stairs. "What are you planning on asking Sirius?"

"Well, when I had detention with Umbridge, she grabbed my hand and my scar hurt," Hailey said. "I also got a strange feeling in my stomach."

"Maybe when she touched you, it sickened you," Michael said.

Hailey shrugged, "Maybe. I also asked him if he knows when Hagrid's coming back."

"Why did Umbridge grab your hand?" asked Michael sounding confused.

Hailey didn't want him to worry about her, because he was probably going out of his mind with worry over _her_. She was the one that was currently being trashed by the _Daily Prophet_ claiming that she was losing her mind. But she figured that it would be nice if he worried over something minor. She held up her hand to Michael for him to see. He seemed confused and then he noticed the cut on the back of her hand.

"You said she was giving you lines," Michael accused. He didn't sound angry at Hailey, he sounded a bit sad, which felt a little worse.

"There's this quill that she uses and whatever you write is sliced into your skin and the ink is your blood," Hailey explained.

Michael looked revolted at that, "You need to tell someone about this. This is horrible."

"I think that's what she wants me to do," Hailey said. "She wants to get me to whine, moan, and complain. That or it's because she wants me to look crazier than I look."

"You can at least tell Flitwick about it," said Michael.

Hailey started, "I don't—"

"I would _not_ go that way if I were you two," interrupted a voice. It was Nearly Headless Nick drifting through a wall just ahead of them. "Peeves is planning an amusing joke on the next person that passes the bust of Paracelsus halfway down the corridor."

"Does that joke involve Peeves dropping Paracelsus on someone's head?" Michael asked.

"Funnily enough, it _does,_ " said Nearly Headless Nick in a bored tone. "Subtlety has never been Peeves's strong point. I'm off to try and find the Bloody Baron…he might be able to put a stop to it…see you, Hailey and Michael."

"Yeah, bye," Hailey said.

"See you around," replied Michael.

They went left taking a longer route to the Owlery.

"You should at least tell Flitwick about Umbridge," said Michael.

Hailey sighed and looked out the windows. The sky was blue and she remembered that the Ravenclaws had training later.

"Hey, we're not doing anything," Michael said.

Hailey looked down and noticed Mrs Norris walking away, right behind a statue of Wilfred the Wistful. She called to the cat, "We're allowed to go the Owlery, you know."

They continued up to the Owlery.

"You're not going to Flitwick are you?" asked Michael.

"No," replied Hailey, "And I forbid you from going to him. And I'm sure you plan on telling Mandy, so I forbid you from letting her tell someone else."

Michael seemed to think it over and sighed, "Fine."

Hailey smiled and kissed him on the cheek before they entered the Owlery. The sun was now high in the sky and it dazzled them; beams of sunlight criss-crossed the circular room. Hundreds of owls were nestled on rafters and they seemed a little restless. The straw crunched as they walked across tiny animal bones. Hailey looked in the rafters and spotted Hedwig, near the very top. "Get down here; I've got a letter for you."

Hedwig stretched her wings and soared down right onto Hailey's shoulder. Michael stroked Hedwig as Haily spoke to Hedwig, "Right, I know this says Snuffles on the outside, but it's for Sirius, okay?" She realized she had whispered it. She stuck the letter in Hedwig's beak and Hedwig blinked once at her.

Hailey took that as Hedwig understanding her.

"Safe flight, then," said Hailey.

"Yeah, stay safe," Michael said to the owl.

Hailey took Hedwig to the window and felt Hedwig take off. Michael and Hailey watched Hedwig, until she became a tiny black speck and vanished. Hailey looked at Hagrid's hut, but the chimney was smokeless and the curtains were drawn. Michael took her hand and squeezed it.

Hailey looked at him and Michael looked back at her. The next thing she knew they were suddenly kissing. She wasn't sure when she had removed her hand from Michael's, because she had her hands on his shoulders.

The Owlery door slammed open and Hailey pulled away to see that Filch, the caretaker, was wheezing as he stood in the doorway. His eyes looked like they were bulging. There were purple patches on his sunken, veined cheeks, and his jowls were quivering. His thin, grey hair was dishevelled and Hailey was sure that he ran there.

Mrs Norris came trotting in after Filch, and gazed up at the owls and mewed in a hungry manner. The owls shifted their wings restlessly and a large brown owl snapped his beak.

"Aha!" said Filch, taking a step towards Hailey. His pouchy cheeks were trembling with anger. "I've had a tip-off that you and your boyfriend were intending to place a massive order for Dungbombs, just like his cousin, but I see what you two are really up to!"

Michael folded his arms and looked at the caretaker. "And what do _you_ think that we're getting up to?"

Filch's eyes seemed to bulge even more and he flailed his arms. "You two were getting up to ina—"

"Let's go," Michael interrupted taking Hailey's hand as they pushed past Filch.

Hailey was sure that her face was red at what Filch was implying. She was sure that if her face was any hotter, it would probably burst into flames. Filch was shouting something about having Professor Flitwick send them to have a talk with Madam Pomfrey.

When they were a good distance away, they busted out laughing.

Once he calmed down, Michael said, "I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his skull when he ran in."

"I know," Hailey said giggling.

With that, they headed to breakfast. They sat down at the Ravenclaw table and before Hailey could get some toast, Ron came over, forcing himself between Hailey and Michael. He turned to look at Hailey, "Listen…you don't fancy going out to give me some practice before Gryffindor's training? So I can, you know, get my eye in a bit."

Hailey nodded almost absentmindedly as she grabbed some toast. "Yeah, sure." She frowned, "You said, 'Gryffindor's training.' That means…" She hugged him around the shoulders, "You made the team!" She was pretty sure that Ron was embarrassed. She was proud of her best friend. She released him and smacked him on the back. "Good job."

Mandy's owl, Glinda, landed on the table in front of Hailey. Glinda held out her leg to Hailey. Hailey untied the letter and set it aside to hand to Mandy. Glinda proceeded to steal Hailey's toast and flew off with it. Hermione came over and forced herself between Hailey and Ron.

"Look at this," whispered Hermione. She was holding the _Daily Prophet._ "' _The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer…blah blah blah is currently hiding in London_."

"Lucius Malfoy, I'll bet anything," whispered Hailey, furious. "He did recognise Sirius of the platform…"

"What?" asked Ron and Michael, looking alarmed. "You didn't say—"

"What's going on?" asked Mandy walking up.

The others shushed her and Hailey handed Mandy the note. Mandy sat down next to Hailey.

"' _Ministry warns wizarding community that Black is very dangerous_ … _killed thirteen people_ … _broke out of Azkaban_ …' the usual rubbish," whispered Hermione, slapping the newspaper down. She looked fearfully at her friends. "Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all. Dumbledore did warn him not to."

Hailey looked down at the _Prophet_.

"Hey, listen to this," Mandy said, " _Trespass at Ministry_. _Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defense, was convicted on both charges and sentence to six months in Azkaban._ '" She set the article down.

"Six months? That's a little extreme," said Michael.

"Sturgis Podmore?" started Ron slowly. "He's the bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the—"

"What's going on?" Eva asked, coming over. She forced herself between Ron and Michael. "Is it a party? Who's birthday is it?" She looked up and down the table, smiling widely at them. She pointed at Mandy, "What about you, Mandy? When's your birthday?"

"My birthday's in March," stated Mandy confused.

"So, what's going on?" asked Eva.

"Homework," they all said in unison.

Eva looked at them, "Did you hear about that bloke trespassing in the Ministry? It's suspicious, isn't it?"

"How is it suspicious?" asked Mandy.

"Six months just for trying to get through a door?" Eva said. She shook her head, "I know trespassing is bad, but really? Ivy thinks that there's something really important that no one wants anyone to see. I know I was seeing some strange fog in my dreams, but I don't know what it means." She had told them the previous year that she had strange dreams that seemed to become clearer when it was about to come true.

"Probably means there's going to be loads of fog sometime soon," said Ron.

Eva shrugged, "maybe, but it's strange, isn't it? Ivy said that there are rooms that you're not supposed to be in."

"So, whatever room he was trying to get into, it has to have something important in it where you can get arrested for it," Mandy said.

"Yeah," Eva said. She looked at the group. "I just wonder what's in there though." She shrugged. She ruffled Michael's hair, who batted her hands away, and frowned. "You need a haircut, Mikey."

"I'll get one when I want one," Michael grumbled.

"I really hate Professor Umbridge," Eva stated. "She teaches nothing! It's all—" she used a very deep manly voice, "' _now read the books and copy down lines, Evangeline. You don't need to know how to defend yourselves because there's nothing to defend yourselves against.'_ " As she spoke, she flailed her arms and nearly smacked Ron and Michael in the face. "Sorry. You should _hear_ what the Hufflepuffs call her."

"What do they call her?" Michael asked.

"Something that I rather not repeat, in case I get damned for it," Eva said. "She already gave Aislinn, Brighid, and Evan detention for it."

Hailey was briefly worried for the three students and looked at her hand with the faint words that had been cut in her hand.

"Well, I better go," Eva said, getting up. She ruffled Michael's hair again, "Bye." She looked stern, "You better not get in trouble again." She left the Ravenclaw table.

"The way she talks, she makes it sound like I get grounded once a year," Michael said.

"You do," Mandy pointed out.

Michael nodded, "damn, that's true."

"Hey, Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off at King's Cross, remember?" Hailey said to Hermione and Ron. "And Moody was annoyed because he didn't turn up, so he couldn't have been on a job for the Order, could he?"

"Maybe they didn't expect him to get caught," said Hermione.

"It could be a frame-up!" Ron exclaimed.

"Go on," said Mandy looking interested.

Ron ignored the threatening look that Hermione gave him. "The Ministry suspects he's one of Dumbledore's lot, so—I dunno—they _lured_ him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they've just made something up just to get him!"

Hailey supposed that it could make sense.

"Maybe," said Mandy. "I just wonder what they said to get him to go to the Ministry, though."

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were true." said Hermione thoughtfully, as she folded up the newspaper. "Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on self-fertilising shrubs first and if we're lucky, we'll be able to start McGonagall's Inanimatus Conjurus Spell before lunch…"

Hailey nodded. She really needed to get started to the homework. She looked at the ceiling to see that the sky was a clear blue and she realized that she hadn't flew on the Firebolt all week.

* * *

Later, Ron and Hailey walked down the sloping lawns towards the Quidditch pitch, holding the broomsticks. Hailey was still embarrassed over the verbal warning that Hermione had given them. Hermione had said something about Hailey being a Ravenclaw and how she should know better than to skip out on homework because she was going to fail her O.W.L.s if she didn't do her homework.

"I mean, we can do it tonight," said Ron. "And we've got tomorrow. She gets too worked up about work, that's her trouble…"

They continued walking.

Sounding slightly anxious, Ron said, "D'you think she meant it when she said I can't copy from her?"

"Yeah," said Hailey. "I do."

"Can I copy from you?" asked Ron.

Hailey didn't know how to respond to that, and said, "Quidditch is pretty important too. I mean, we have to practise to stay on the team."

That seemed to distract Ron because he said, "Yeah, that's right. And we have got plenty of time to do it all…"

Hailey glanced at the Forbidden Forest on her right to see if any Thestrals would appear, but they didn't. There were some owls flying around the Owlery. They collected the balls from the cupboard in the changing room.

"Hey, you know, I'm surprised that Michael is letting you be alone with me," said Ron.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hailey.

"You're his girlfriend and all, so I'm surprised that he is okay with you running off to spend time with another guy, that's all." said Ron as they headed to the Quidditch pitch.

Hailey snorted, "You're my best friend. He wouldn't be jealous."

"I suppose," said Ron. He seemed thoughtful. "You know, I think he was planning on taking you out on date at Hogsmeade on our visit there."

Hailey perked up, "Really?"

"I shouldn't have said that," muttered Ron. "I'll appreciate it if you didn't tell him that I said that."

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear you say it," said Hailey. "Let's practise."

Ron guarded the three goalposts and Hailey played the Chaser as she tried to get the Quaffle past Ron. He blocked three-quarters of the goals as Hailey attempted to get the Quaffles to go past Ron. She thought he was pretty good and he seemed to get better the longer they practised, but she couldn't help but wonder if it may because she was one person.

After a couple of hours, they headed up to the castle for lunch. Hermione had called them irresponsible and Hailey told Ron good luck when he went for the actual training.

"How was he?" Mandy asked.

"He was good," Hailey said. "He got better, but I don't know if it was because it was just the one person or because he really is good."

"I wonder where the Slytherins are going," said Michael.

Hailey turned and see some Slytherins heading out of the Great Hall. She shrugged, "Don't know. Don't care."

For the rest of the day, the three Ravenclaws and Hermione worked on homework, who ended up leaving the library after a while. When dinner came, Hailey noticed how Ron and Hermione looked tense. She almost sighed because them arguing was beginning to slowly get on her nerves.

As they headed to the Great Hall, Hailey asked Ron, "How was practise?"

"Lousy," Ron glowered.

"What happened?" asked Hailey.

"The Slytherins," said Ron. "They insulted us and started chanting ' _Gryffindors are losers._ '"

"Of course they did," said Hailey. "If I could, I would get a hold of Malfoy and—" she strangled the air and received a few strange looks from other students. She really didn't care if they went around saying that she really is losing her mind because she was strangling air. They would probably say that she thought it was Voldemort.

Ron seemed to cheer up slightly and told Hailey about how his brothers gave Katie Bell the wrong sweet and made her nose bleed worse.

* * *

Hailey, Mandy, Michael, and Ron spent Sunday in the Gryffindor common room. Hailey and Ron were trying to catch up on some homework. Most of the Gryffindors spent the day out in the grounds. By evening, Hailey felt as if she was getting a headache. "I think we probably should try and get more homework done during the week." She set aside Professor McGonagall's long essay and took Professor Sinistra's equally long essay about Jupiter's many moons.

"Easy for you to say, you did most of your homework while I was out practising yesterday," grumbled Ron. "You're a Ravenclaw." He looked at her, "Can I look at what you've done?"

Hailey looked over at Hermione. Hermione was sitting and knitting with Crookshanks in her lap and talking to Ginny. "I don't want her to yell at me again."

* * *

It was half past eleven when Hermione came over to them yawning. "Nearly done?"

"No," said Ron shortly.

"Jupiter's biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto," Hermione said, pointing over Ron's shoulder. "And it's Io that's got the volcanoes."

"Thanks," Ron snarled, crossing out the sentences.

Hermione looked taken aback, "Sorry, I only—"

"Yeah," interrupted Ron, "Well, if you've just come over here to criticise—"

"Ron—" Hermione started.

"I haven't got time to listen to a sermon, all right, Hermione," Ron continued ranting. "I'm up to my neck in it here—"

"You got an owl," Mandy interrupted. Hermione was pointing to the nearest window.

A screech owl was standing on the windowsill, looking straight at Ron.

"What's Percy writing to me for?" asked Ron. He threw down his quill and got to his feet. He went to the window and opened it. He looked through the letter and scowled. When he finished reading, he handed the letter to Hailey so she can read it.

She looked at the letter, "did he write a letter or a novel?" The others gathered around Hailey as she read the letter. It basically boiled down to telling Ron not to hang out with her, something about Umbridge being a delightful woman, and something about the Weasley family beliefs and actions. She looked at Ron and forced a laugh, "Well, if you want to—er—what is it, again?" She looked at the letter, "Oh, right, ' _sever ties_ ' with me, I swear I won't turn violent."

"Give it back," said Ron. He took the letter back, "He is—" he ripped it in half, "the world's—" he tore it quarters, "biggest—" he tore it into eighths, " _git_." He threw the pieces in the fire. He went back to the table that he and Hailey were sitting at. "Come on, I've got to get this finished sometime before dawn and you're going to help me." He pulled Professor Sinistra's essay back towards him.

Hermione was looking at Ron with an odd expression on her face and Hailey briefly wondered what Hermione was thinking.

"Oh, give it here," Hermione said.

"What?" asked Ron.

"Give it to me, I'll look through it and correct it," Hermione said.

"What about mine?" Hailey jokingly asked.

Hermione gave her a look.

"Are you serious?" Ron asked Hermione. "Ah, Hermione, you're a life-saver. What can I—?"

"What you can say is, 'we promise we'll never leave our homework this late again," Hermione said, holding out her hand, but she looked slightly amused.

Hailey sat back in a armchair and rubbed her eyes. It was now past midnight and the common room was deserted, except for the three Ravenclaws, the two Gryffindors, and Crookshanks. She watched the remains of Percy's letter in the fire. She felt sick. She knew Percy for four years, stayed at the Weasleys during the summer holidays, so why does Percy believe the Ministry? She knew that probably most of the school thought she was mad and she knew that the _Daily Prophet_ was the one spreading the rumours. But seeing it written down in Percy's handwriting, Percy advising Ron to drop her as a friend. How could Percy think of her as unbalanced and violent?

She suddenly felt sympathetic for Sirius, who was in the same situation, because nearly everyone in the wizarding world though that Sirius was a dangerous murderer and supporter of Voldemort.

"Hey, cheer up," Michael said sitting next to her. "Ron isn't going to stop being your friend." He patted her knee.

Hailey stared at the fire. Something had flashed and she couldn't be quite sure if she had seen it properly. She had been thinking of Sirius, it was midnight, she could've seen something while being half-asleep.

"Michael, I would appreciate it greatly if you removed your hand from my goddaughter's knee," a voice said in a dark tone.

Michael removed his hand as if he got burned. Mandy sniggered and Hailey gaped at the sight of her godfather in the fire.

" _Sirius_!" Hailey exclaimed.

"I was starting to think that your friends had gone to bed before everyone else had disappeared," Sirius said. "I've been checking every hour."

Hailey went over to the hearthrug, half-laughing. "You've been checking into the fire every hour?"

"Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear," Sirius explained.

Mandy and Michael went to stand next to Hailey.

"What if you were seen?" asked Mandy sounding anxious.

"Well, I think a girl—first-year, by the look of her—might've got a glimpse of me earlier," Sirius said. Mandy opened her mouth and Sirius continued, "but don't worry. I was gone the moment she looked back at me and I'll bet she just thought I was an oddly-shaped log or something."

"You're taking an awful huge risk," said Mandy.

"You sound like Molly," replied Sirius. "This was the only way I could come up with of answering Hailey's letter without resorting to a code—"

"Because codes can be broken," Michael said.

Hermione, Ron, and Mandy turned to look at Hailey.

Hermione accused, "You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!"

"I forgot," replied Hailey trying not to blush.

"It slipped my mind," replied Michael looking very intently at the hearth.

Sirius and Hermione looked at Hailey and Michael in slightly suspicious ways.

"Don't give me that look, Hermione," Hailey said. "There was no way anyone would've gotten secret out of it, was there, Sirius?"

"No, it was very good," replied Sirius smiling. "Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed—your scar."

Ron started, "What about—?"

"We'll tell you afterwards," Hermione interrupted. "Go on, Sirius."

"Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think it's anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?" Sirius said.

"Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion," said Hailey ignoring how her friends winced. "So, maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention."

"Well, now he's back, it's bound to hurt more often," said Sirius.

"So, it doesn't have anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?" asked Hailey.

"I doubt it," said Sirius. "I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater—"

"Even though she's cruel like one," Michael grumbled glancing at Hailey's hand. Mandy, Ron, and Hermione nodded.

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters," replied Sirius, giving a wry smile. "I know she's a nasty piece of work—"

"Understatement," muttered Mandy.

"Good point," replied Sirius. "You should hear Remus talk about her."

"How does he know her?" asked Hailey and then remembered Umbridge's comments about dangerous half-breeds during the first lesson.

"He doesn't, but she drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him to get a job."

Hailey remembered how shabbier Remus had been looking lately and she hated Umbridge even more.

"My god, what a—" Mandy said and used a word that made Ron snicker.

Hermione glared at the blonde, and hissed, "Mandy!" She looked at Sirius, "What's she got against werewolves?"

"Scared of them, I expect," said Sirius. "Apparently she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year, too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose."

Ron laughed.

Hermione looked upset and she admonished, "Sirius! Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher, I'm sure he'd respond. After all, you are the only member of his family he's got left, and Professor Dumbledore said—"

"So, what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Sirius interrupted. "Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"

"No," said Hailey.

"She doesn't let us use magic!" Mandy ranted.

"And all we do is read the stupid textbook," said Ron.

"Ah, well, that figures," said Sirius. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"' _Trained in combat!_ '" repeated Hailey.

"The hell is going through his head?" asked Michael.

"Does he think that we're forming some sort of army or something?" asked Mandy.

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," said Sirius.

"You've got to be kidding me," groaned Mandy.

Sirius continued, "Or, rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing—"

"Bloody idiot," muttered Michael.

"Forming his own private army with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic," Sirius finished.

Mandy and Michael busted out laughing at how stupid the idea was. Once they calmed down, Ron said, "That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with."

"Hey, come on," Mandy said. "She's not that bad."

"So we're being prevented from learning Defence Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" Hermione said furiously.

"They're refusing to teach us over a paranoid idea that has no evidence?" asked Michael.

"Yep," replied Sirius. "Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge."

It reminded Hailey of Percy's letter, "D'you know if there's going to be anything about Dumbledore in the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow? Ron's brother, Percy, reckons there will be—"

"I don't know," replied Sirius. "I haven't seen anyone from the Order all weekend. They're all busy. It's just been Kreacher and me here…" He sounded bitter.

"So, do you have any news about Hagrid?" asked Mandy.

"Ah…well, he was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him," Sirius said. Hailey was stricken and Sirius added, "But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you give get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine."

"You're sure?" Mandy asked.

"You said that he's supposed to be back by now," replied Michael.

"Madame Maxime was with him," Sirius explained. "We've been in touched with her and she says they got separated on the journey home—but there's nothing to suggest he's hurt or—well, nothing to suggest he's not perfectly okay."

The fifth-years looked at each other, worriedly.

"Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid," Sirius rushed in. "It'll just draw even more attention to the fact that he's not back and I know Dumbledore doesn't want that. Hagrid's tough, he'll be okay."

Hailey still was worried, since Hagrid was supposed to be back.

"When's your next Hogsmeade weekend, anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn't we? I thought I could—"

"No!" Hailey, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael said loudly in unison.

"Sirius, didn't you see the _Daily Prophet_?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"Oh, that," replied Sirius grinning.

Hailey wasn't reassured over Sirius not reading the recent editions of the _Daily Prophet_.

Sirius continued, "They're always guessing where I am, they haven't really got a clue—"

"Yeah, but we think this time they have," Hailey interrupted. "Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius—you know, Lucius Malfoy—so don't come up here, whatever you do. If Malfoy recognises you again—"

"All right, all right, I've got the point," replied Sirius, looking dejected. "Just an idea, thought you might like to get together."

"I do, I just don't want you to get thrown in Azkaban again!" replied Hailey.

Sirius was looking at Hailey, with a crease between his sunken eyes. In a slightly cold voice, Sirius said, "You're less like your father than I thought. The risk would've been what made it fun for James."

Hailey felt a little bad, "look—"

"Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs," Sirius said, but Hailey could tell that he was lying. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?"

With a tiny _pop_ , Sirius's head was gone and all that remained was fire.


	15. The Hogwarts High Inquisitor

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the very long hiatus I had taken. Like I had said, I will finish Year 5.

* * *

They expected to look through the _Daily Prophet_ to find the article that Percy had mentioned in his letter, but they didn't have too, because it was on the first page.

"I want to slap her," Mandy muttered as she looked down at the large photograph of Umbridge.

 _MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM  
_ _DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST  
_ _EVER HIGH INQUISITOR_

"Umbridge as a 'High Inquisitor?'" Hailey replied in a dark tone. She dropped her toast and took the _Daily Prophet_ from Mandy's hand. She was in between Michael and Mandy. "What does that _even_ mean?"

She noticed the first paragraph which said that the Ministry of Magic had passed a new legislation giving itself a 'unprecedented' level of control at Hogwarts.

"Of course they did," Mandy said.

Hailey read the second paragraph up to she read Percy's name and ignored the rest. She read the third paragraph which said that it wasn't the first time in recent weeks that Fudge has used new laws to give improvements to Hogwarts.

"'Improvements' is an overstatement," Michael said darkly.

"I know," Mandy said.

Hailey continued reading. There was an Educational Decree that was Number Twenty-Two that had been passed to ensure that if the Headmaster was unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person.

"'Appropriate' is an overstatement," Hailey said.

"I was going to say that," Michael grumbled.

Hailey smiled at him and continued reading, before skimming on how Dolores Umbridge been appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts. Percy said that Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so Fudge had put Umbridge in—

"' _An immediate success_ ' my arse," Mandy said through a mouthful of porridge.

Percy went on to say that Umbridge was revolutionizing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position and was providing Fudge with on-the-ground feedback about what was really going on at Hogwarts.

With the feedback, Fudge has now formalized with the passing of 'Educational Decree Number Twenty-three', which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor.

"' _Exciting_ ' my arse," Mandy said and viciously bite into some toast.

Apparently the new phase was supposed to be exciting as the Minister comes in to grips with the 'falling standards' at Hogwarts.

"Can we get to the part to what the Inquisitor does?" asked Mandy.

"The Inquisitor is allowed to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch," Hailey told her.

Professor Umbridge had been offered the position and had been allowed her own teaching post, which Umbridge had been accepted.

"Of course she agreed," Mandy said darkly. "She's a greedy, power-hungry b—"

Hailey read over her, " _The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts."_

"My arse!" Mandy shouted.

Hailey skimmed over what Lucius Malfoy said. She rolled her eyes at the rude comments about how the 'eccentric decisions' that Dumbledore had made included how Remus was a werewolf, Hagrid being a half-giant, and how Mad-Eye Moody was an 'delusional ex-Auror'.

There were supposed rumours that Dumbledore was no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts. There was mention of Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden resigning in protest of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts.

Madam Marchbanks had stated that Hogwarts is a school not an outpost of Fudge's office and she said that it's a disgusting attempt to discredit Dumbledore.

Apparently Madam Marchbank has alleged links to subversive goblin groups, which could be read on page seventeen.

"Now we know why Umbridge ended up teaching," Michael said in a dark tone.

Hailey snorted, "Oh, is that what it's called?"

"Is that what she's doing?" Mandy asked.

Michael chuckled at that.

Hermione came over and crammed herself right between Hailey and Michael. "Now we know how we ended up with Umbridge!"

"I know!" said Mandy. "Fudge had to force her on us and gave her power to inspect the teachers."

"I can't believe this!" said Hermione breathing fast. "This is _outrageous_!"

"It really is," Hailey said looking down at her hands. She looked at the faint white words that Umbridge's quill had carved in her left hand.

"Why are you smiling?" asked Mandy sounding unsettled. Hailey looked up to see that Ron was smiling widely.

"Oh, I can't wait to see McGonagall inspected. Umbridge won't know what hit her," Ron said.

"We can't be late, if she's inspecting Binns's class," Hermione said to Ron.

The two Gryffindors took off to Binns's class while the Ravenclaws headed to Potions. Umbridge wasn't in Potions, so she could've been in a different class, probably History of Magic, if Hermione considered the possibility of Umbridge inspecting History of Magic.

They had passed in the moonstone essay and when he passed back their graded essays, Snape looked like he was in a foul mood, which worsened when he passed Hailey's essay.

Hailey was surprised to see that she had received an 'E'.

"I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your O.W.L.," Snape said as he passed the aisles to go to the front of the class. "This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in the examination." He looked like he was expecting them to do poorly. "The general standard of this homework was…" He made a face, "passable."

With that, class started and Hailey didn't want to have another repeat of last week, double-checked each line before acting on her Strengthening Solution. It seemed like it paid off when her potion had turned a clear turquoise colour that seemed to match Michael's and Mandy's. So, when class was over, Hailey had handed in her potion with a smirk which made Snape narrow his eyes at her.

She hurried out of the classroom, catching up to her friends.

"Well, at least it went better than last week, right?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, although I suspect Snape was expecting that I would've done poorly on the moonstone essay," Hailey admitted.

"Well, he did seem like he was in a foul mood," Michael said. "Or maybe my aunt was trying to preach religion to him. _That_ would put anyone in a bad mood."

"I wonder what grade Ron got," Hailey mused as they went to Professor Binns's class, where they didn't see Umbridge doing inspections. However the class was very boring and Mandy ended up falling asleep on her desk.

So, Michael and Hailey ended up playing a few games of noughts and crosses on a spare piece of parchment that Hailey had found in her bag, until it was time for lunch.

They headed down to the Great Hall, running into Hermione and Ron along the way. Ron was looking disgruntled and Hailey knew that something must've upset him.

"Did you do as bad as you did last week?" asked Hermione. "And the homework didn't go too badly, either, did it?"

Ron looked even more disgruntled.

"It went well," said Hailey. "I was just having a bad week, that's all." She glanced down at the faint _I must not tell lies_ scar on her hand.

"Understatement," muttered Michael.

"Anyway, I did well," said Mandy. "I wish I'd gotten an 'O' since he's doing O.W.L. marks, but…" she shrugged, "Oh, well."

"I wish I'd gotten an 'O' too," said Hermione.

Ron stayed quiet and Hailey frowned. "What did you get, Ron?"

"I got a 'P,'" said Ron darkly.

Michael winced and said, "At least you didn't get a T."

"What's a T?" asked Hailey. She wasn't sure if she heard of that mark before. She looked at Hermione, who looked confused too.

"Troll," said Ron grinning.

"I always thought that someone getting a T was just messing around since there's no way that someone can get a T," said Mandy.

"Better a P than a D," said Hermione.

"Besides, there's still plenty of time," said Michael.

"Yeah, Ron if you want, I can tutor you," said Mandy. "I wouldn't mind getting away from Sami's death glares." She was referring to her cat, who had taken a liking to sitting on their trunks and glaring at them for some reason.

Ron looked a little relieved at that, "Thanks Mandy, you're a big help."

"Did you two have an inspected lesson yet?" asked Michael.

"No," said Ron, looking glad for a change in O.W.L. marks and tutoring. "Have any of you yet?"

"No," said Hailey, shaking her head.

"I wonder if Fred and George had one yet," said Mandy as they reached the Great Hall.

"Have one what?" asked Fred.

Mandy squealed a little and Michael winced since Mandy was next to him.

"An inspected lesson," said Hermione.

"Yeah, we had once before lunch," said George. "Charms."

"Was it terrible?" asked Hailey. She remembered Sirius saying something about Umbridge hating 'half-breeds' and Hailey was sure that Professor Flitwick had some goblin blood in him somewhere. She noticed Mandy and Michael looked terrified.

"It wasn't that bad," said Fred. "Umbridge just lurked in the corner, making notes on a clipboard. She even measured him for some reason. Besides that, Flitwick treated her like a guest and she didn't seem to bother him at all. She didn't say much and asked Alicia a couple of questions about what the classes is normally like. Alicia told her they were really good and that was it."

Mandy seemed to relax a little, "Oh, that's great to hear."

"I can't see old Flitwick getting marked down." said George, "He usually gets everyone through their exams all right."

"Who've you got this afternoon?" Fred asked Hailey.

"Trelawney and Umbridge herself," said Hailey. "Why?"

"I got Arithmancy," said Hermione.

"And I got Ancient History," said Michael.

"Well, be a good girl and keep your temper with Umbridge today," said George. "I heard Roger Davis saying something about there being a surprise tomorrow."

"Okay," said Hailey feeling a little miffed at being told to be a 'good girl.' However, she'd rather not suffer another detention with Umbridge's blood-siphoning quill, so she decided to grit her teeth and suck up the terrible lesson with Umbridge.

With that, they went to lunch.

"Are you sure that you'd tutor Ron?" Michael asked Mandy.

"Yeah," said Mandy. "O. are very important and I don't want him to fail. Friends shouldn't let their friends get left behind. That reminds me…" She took out some parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle. "I need to set up a tutoring schedule for him." She got to work on making a schedule. Every now and then she would mutter, "Not that day…" under her breath.

"I don't know why you're still taking Divination," Michael said.

"I took it to be with Ron," said Hailey. "I figured that if I'm bad at it, I might as well be terrible at it with Ron."

"Except you both seem to be good at it," said Mandy, pointing her quill at Hailey.

"The one downside to it," muttered Hailey.

"Cheer up, at least you don't have to face Umbridge till Defence," said Michael.

* * *

Hailey, Mandy, and Ron sat at the back of the shadowy Divination classroom. Mandy was setting up a tutoring schedule for her and Ron. Professor Trelawney was passing out copies of _The Dream Oracle._

When Mandy finished making the schedule, she passed it to Ron who looked over it. Hailey was pulling out her dream diary when Mandy flicked her on the ear.

"Ow. What the hell?" asked Hailey.

"Umbridge alert," whispered Mandy as the class fell silent.

Hailey looked around and noticed Umbridge emerging from the trapdoor on the floor. Hailey almost groaned.

Professor Trelawney turned around.

"Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney," said Professor Umbridge with a wide grin. "You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?"

Professor Trelawney nodded, while looking disgruntled. She turned her back on Professor Umbridge and continued passing out books.

The defence professor grabbed a chair and pulled it a few inches behind Professor Trelawney's seat. She sat down, took a clipboard out of her floral patterned handbag and looked like she expecting for the class to begin.

Professor Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her and Hailey noticed that Professor Trelawney's hands were shaking. Professor Trelawney looked around the class with her huge glasses.

"We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today," said Trelawney. She sounded like she was trying to use a mystic voice, but Hailey could hear a tremble in the professor's voice. "Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other's latest night-time visions with the aid of the _Oracle_."

Hailey opened up her copy of _The Dream Oracle_ and snuck glances at Umbridge who was writing on the clipboard.

Padma, who had Divination with them, whispered, "Great, she's up."

"Quick, think up of a dream before the old toad comes our way," whispered Hailey to Ron. She couldn't remember dreaming about anything in the past few days.

"I did it last time," replied Ron. "It's your turn. You tell me one."

Hailey was feeling desperate, said, "Let's say I dreamed I was…drowning Snape in my cauldron." She shrugged as Ron laughed, "Yeah, that'll do."

Ron opened his _Dream Oracle_. He looked at it, "Okay, we've got to add your age to the day you had in the dream, the number of letters in the subject…would that be 'drowning' or 'cauldron' or 'Snape?'"

"I don't reckon it matters," said Hailey looking at her _Dream Oracle._ "Pick any of them." She risked a glance behind her, to see that Umbridge was standing at Trelawney's shoulder, making notes, while Trelawney questioned Neville about his dream diary.

Ron seemed immersed in making calculations, "What night did you dream this again?"

Hailey shrugged again, "Last night, whenever you like." She tried to listen to what Umbridge was saying to Trelawney since they were only a table away from them now. Umbridge was making another note on her clipboard while Trelawney looked extremely put out.

"Now, you've been in this post how long, exactly?" asked Umbridge.

Hailey watched as Trelawney scowled at Umbridge. Trelawney had her arms crossed and her shoulders were hunched over. It looked like Trelawney seemed to think the question over, and seemed to decide that it wasn't offensive. She said, "Nearly sixteen years."

"Quite a period," replied Umbridge, making a note on her clipboard. "So it was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you"

"That's right," said Trelawney shortly. Professor Umbridge made another note. "And you are a great-great-granddaughter of the celebrated Seer Cassandra Trelawney?"

Professor Trelawney seemed to hold her head up a little higher, "Yes."

There was another note made by Umbridge. Umbridge said, "But I think—correct me if I am mistaken—that you are the first in your family since Cassandra to be possessed of Second Sight?"

"These things often skip—er—three generations," replied Trelawney.

That seemed to have made Umbridge smile widely, "Of course." She made another note, "Well, if you could just predict something for me, then?" She looked up enquiringly, still smiling.

That made Trelawney stiffen and she clutched her shawl around her scrawny neck. "I don't understand you."

"I'd like you to make a prediction for me," said Umbridge in a clear tone.

Hailey noticed how the rest of the class seemed to be watching the entire ordeal.

Trelawney stood up to her full height, "The Inner Eye does not See upon command!" She had a scandalised tone.

"I see," replied Umbridge in soft tone, making yet another note on her clipboard.

Hailey grabbed the table, feeling anger and disgust towards Umbridge.

"I—but—but… _wait_!" cried Trelawney in her usual ethereal voice, but the mysticism was ruined by the way her voice seemed to shake with anger. "I…I think I _do_ see something…something that concerns _you_ …why, I sense something…something _dark_ …some grave peril…" Trelawney pointed at Umbridge. Hailey noticed that Trelawney's finger was shaking.

Umbridge seemed to be smiling rather blandly at Trelawney's prediction.

"I am afraid…I am afraid that you are in grave danger!" Trelawney said in a dramatic tone.

Hailey watched as Umbridge's eyebrows rose.

"Right," said Umbridge in a soft tone, writing down on her clipboard once more. "Well, if that's really the best you can do…" She turned away from Trelawney.

Hailey looked at Ron. She knew that Trelawney was a fraud, but she wasn't entirely sure about that since Trelawney seemed to predict Pettigrew's escape and return to Voldemort in Hailey's third year. Hailey felt bad for Trelawney being harassed like that and felt sympathy for Trelawney.

Trelawney was now bearing down on Hailey and Ron.

"Well?" said Trelawney, snapping her long fingers right under Hailey's nose. She sounded uncharacteristically brisk. "Let me see the start you've made on your dream diary, please."

Hailey awkwardly handed the diary to Trelawney, knowing that she was going to end up in embarrassment after Trelawney finished interpreting her dreams.

After Trelawney finished off interpreting Hailey's dreams, even interpreting eating porridge as a gruesome and early death, Hailey felt less sympathetic towards Trelawney. It was made worse when Hailey noticed Umbridge was making notes on the clipboard.

When the bell rang, Umbridge was the first one to descend the silver ladder.

"Well, that was horrible," said Mandy as the Ravenclaws headed to Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"And it's going to be worse," said Hailey darkly.

When they meet up with Michael, he frowned, "Did Trelawney predict your death again?"

"No," said Mandy. She spoke flatly, " _Umbridge._ "

Michael grimaced, "Oh. Her. She'll ruin everyone's mood."

"She's out to destroy Trelawney," said Mandy.

"What did Umbridge do?" asked Michael.

Hailey and Mandy told him what Umbridge did.

"I mean, Trelawney is supposed to be a Seer," said Michael. "Everyone talks about how she's a fraud, so I don't see why it would be horrible for her to get a bad report. Dumbledore won't let her get fired anyway."

"She did make that prediction in our third year, so I wouldn't discredit her so easily," said Hailey.

* * *

"Welcome to hell," muttered Hailey as she entered the Defence classroom.

They sat down and took out their _Defensive Magical Theory_ books.

Umbridge called them to order and the class went quiet. "As we finished Chapter One last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence 'Chapter Two, Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation.'"

"Yay," said Stephen in a bored tone.

Hailey stifled her laughter.

"There will be no need to talk," said Umbridge. "Or pass notes." She looked right at Hailey and Michael. Apparently they weren't stealthy about that.

Hailey sighed as she turned to page nineteen. She wondered if there were plenty of chapters to fill up the entire year's lesson plans for the day and went to check the contents page.

"What is it this time, Miss Li?" asked Umbridge.

"I request that I be exempted for the entire year," said Sue.

"And why is that?" asked Umbridge.

"I've already read the entire book," said Sue.

Hailey looked over to see how Umbridge was taking the news. Umbridge was standing right in front of Sue's desk. Sue was sitting next to Stephen.

"You should be able to tell me what Slinkard says about counter-jinxes in Chapter Fifteen."

"He says that people call their jinxes 'counter-jinxes' just to make them sound more acceptable," said Sue. She had her arms crossed and had arched an eyebrow.

"And do you disagree or agree with that, Miss Li?" asked Umbridge.

"I highly doubt my opinion would matter with _you_ ," said Sue. "So, therefore I request that I'll be exempted from this year's lessons since I'd rather do something more productive, like study for my O.W.L.s."

Umbridge was stunned, as if Sue had slapped Umbridge in the face, instead of asking to be exempt for the year.

Umbridge seemed to sputter, "No, you will not, Miss Li."

Sue shrugged and stood up, "Okay. I will think that Professor Flitwick would like to hear my case." She gathered her stuff and walked to the front of the classroom. She slammed the _Magical Theory_ book down on Umbridge's desk.

Everyone watched as Sue went to the doors.

"And Miss Li," called Umbridge. Sue turned around with one last look of defiance. "I think one week's worth of detentions will do you some good for your attitude problem."

"And I wish, I could do something about yours," said Sue before walking out of the classroom, letting the door slam shut.

"I apologise," said Umbridge, "For that pointless interruption. And I will remove ten points from Ravenclaw."

"For what?" demanded Stephen.

"For her unnecessary drama," said Umbridge.

Hailey stayed quiet, managing to keep her temper at bay by appreciating the display that Sue had made.

* * *

By dinner, word had spread about Sue's act of defiance. It was refreshing not to be the talk of the evening.

"I must say, Hailey, I am impressed," said Hermione as they went to the Great Hall together.

"For what?" asked Hailey. "Not being the one that's going to get my hand sliced open every night for a week?"

"Well, yes," said Hermione, "But by keeping your temper in order."

"I kept my temper because I was impressed by Sue walking out like that," said Hailey.

"Wish I could do that," said Ron.

"She shouldn't have expected to be exempted from lessons all year, even after she finished the book like I did," said Hermione haughtily.

Hailey didn't say anything to that. The Ravenclaws went to their table. Sue ended up cramming herself right between Michael and Hailey. Sue looked worried.

"How bad is detention with Umbridge?" Sue asked.

"Terrible," said Hailey. "Be prepared to stay up till midnight and pull all-nighters just to get your homework done." She looked down at her hand, at the faint words on her hand. "Be prepared to use your own blood as ink."

Sue looked confused, "What?"

Hailey held her hand up to Sue. "Umbridge uses a quill that uses you blood as ink and whatever you write cuts itself on the back of your hand. Be prepared for hell."

Sue looked sickened and terrified.

* * *

At then end of the week, they had Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Sue looked tired and her hair was messy. Hailey had felt sympathetic towards her and tried to help out with Sue's homework load, but Sue had claimed that she got it.

When they got in the Transfiguration classroom, Hailey noticed Umbridge right away. Umbridge was sitting in a corner.

Sue made a sound of disgust as she noticed Umbridge too. She sat down next to Hailey, before Michael or Mandy could. Hailey looked at Sue's hand trying to spot words but Sue was busy taking out her books.

"It says ' _I will not talk back,_ '" whispered Sue.

Professor McGonagall marched into the room, "that will do. Mr Goldstein, kindly come here and hand back the homework—Miss Patil, please take this box of mice and hang one to each student—"

" _Hem, hem_ ," said Umbridge, using the silly little cough she had used to interrupt Dumbledore on the first night of term.

Hailey was sure that was going to be the most annoying sound ever. Anthony handed back Hailey's essay and she was glad that she managed to get an E.

"Right then, everyone, listen closely—you have now successfully Vanished your snails, today we shall be—"

" _Hem, hem_ ," said Umbridge.

Hailey cringed at the sound.

" _Yes?_ " said Professor McGonagall, turning around. Her eyebrows were so close together that they seemed to form one long, severe line.

Umbridge said, "I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of your inspect—"

"Obviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall, turning her back firmly on Umbridge.

Hailey tried to hide a smile at that. "As I was saying: today, we shall be practising the altogether more difficult Vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell—"

" _Hem, hem,_ " interrupted Umbridge.

Hailey noticed that Sue almost crushed her piece of parchment.

Professor McGonagall turned around. In a cold tone she said, "I wonder how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking."

Once more, Umbridge looked as though she had just been slapped in the face and she busied herself with straightening the parchment on her clipboard.

Professor McGonagall looked unconcerned as she faced the class once more. "As I was saying: the Vanishing Spell becomes more difficult with the complexity of the animal to be Vanished. The snail, as an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; the mouse, as a mammal, offers a much greater one. This is not, therefore, magic you can accomplish with your mind on your dinner. So—you know the incantation, let me see what you can do…"

Throughout the class, it looked like Umbridge took more notes, but she didn't follow Professor McGonagall around like she had did to Trelawney.

At the end of the class, Professor McGonagall told them to pack up their things. When Mandy spotted Umbridge heading to Professor McGonagall's desk, she poked Hailey and Michael to get her to fall back to listen in.

"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" asked Umbridge.

"Thirty-nine years this December," said Professor McGonagall, snapping her bag shut.

At that, Umbridge made a note. "Very well, you will receive the results of your inspection in ten days' time."

"I can hardly wait," said Professor McGonagall in a very cold and indifferent voice. She strode off towards the door. "Hurry up, you three."

Hailey couldn't help but give Professor McGonagall a small smile, and could've sworn she got one in return.

"Thank god we don't have to see her again till our next Defence class," muttered Mandy.

When they got to the forest for the Care of Magical Creatures, there was Umbridge waiting for them beside Professor Grubbly-Plank.

Mandy exclaimed, "Oh, my god, Umbridge is everywhere! Why does the universe hate us this much?" She dropped to her knees on the ground and yelled, "Why?" at the sky. Other students had to walk around her to avoid stepping on her or knocking her over. They received some strange looks at that.

Michael and Hailey had to pull Mandy to her feet so they can continue walking to the trestle table where the group of Bowtruckles was scrabbling around for woodlice.

"You do not usually take this class, is that correct?" Umbridge asked.

"Quite correct," replied Professor Grubbly-Plank. She had her hands behind her back was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I am a substitute teacher standing in for Professor Hagrid."

Hailey was uneasy and looked at Ron and Hermione. Malfoy was whispering to Crabbe and Goyle; and Hailey was sure that Malfoy would love to tell tall-tales to a Ministry employee.

"Hmm," said Professor Umbridge. She dropped her voice but Hailey was still able to hear, "I wonder—the Headmaster seems strangely reluctant to give me any information on the matter—can _you_ tell me what is causing Professor Hagrid's very extended leave of absence?"

"'Fraid I can't," said Professor Grubbly-Plank in a breezed manner. "Don't know anything more about it than you do. Got an owl from Dumbledore, would I like a couple of weeks' teaching work. I accepted. That's as much as I know. Well…shall I get started then?"

"Yes, please do," said Professor Umbridge, writing on her clipboard.

Hailey rolled her eyes.

Umbridge ended up wandering amongst the students, questioning them on magical creatures, and Hailey was glad that they were able to answer well, making Hailey feel good that the class wasn't letting Hagrid down.

Umbridge returned to Professor Grubbly-Plank after giving Dean Thomas a lengthy interrogation, and she asked, "Overall, how do you, as a temporary member of staff—an objective outsider, I suppose you might say—how do you find Hogwarts? Do you feel you receive enough support from the school management?"

"Oh, yes, Dumbledore's excellent," replied Professor Grubbly-Plank in a hearty manner. "Yes, I've very happy with the way things are run, very happy indeed."

Hailey noticed how Michael seemed irritated at the way Umbridge had looked briefly incredulous.

Umbridge asked, "And what are you planning to cover with this class this year—assuming, of course, that Professor Hagrid does not return?"

Hailey wondered if Umbridge had something planned to make sure that Hagrid does not return.

"Oh, I'll take them through the creatures that most often come up in O.W.L.," replied Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Not much left to do—they've studied unicorns and Nifflers, I thought we'd cover Porlocks and Kneazles, make sure they can recognize Crups and Knarls, you know…"

Hailey thought that even that sounded like a good lesson plan.

"Well, _you_ seem to know what you're doing, at any rate," said Professor Umbridge.

Hailey narrowed her eyes at the emphasis on 'you'. "Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?"

"That was me," Malfoy said quickly. "I was slashed by a Hippogriff."

"Hagrid warned the class not to insult the Hippogriffs and Malfoy was stupid enough to do it anyway," Mandy said quickly.

"I think a night's worth of detention would suit you just fine," said Professor Umbridge.

"I think you're just being detention happy," stated Mandy.

"You just bought yourself another night of detention," replied Umbridge.

"Did I get a good deal on it?" asked Mandy.

Michael put his head on the table to hide his laughter.

"Well, thank you very munch, Professor Grubbly-Plank, I think that's all I need here. You will be receiving the results of you inspection within ten days."

"Jolly good," replied Professor Grubbly-Plank and Umbridge was now off, walking across the lawn to the castle.

"I hate her _so_ much," muttered Michael.

"You're not the only one," said Hailey.

* * *

Two days later, it was nearly midnight when a scowling Mandy and Hailey returned to the common room. Mandy's hand was bleeding and she looked surprised to see Michael, Ron, and even Hermione sitting at a table.

Michael pushed a bowl of yellow liquid towards Mandy. "Hermione said that she made you that solution of strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles."

Mandy stuck her hand in the bowl.

Sami appeared and got right in Mandy's lap, curling up.

Mandy looked at Hermione, "thanks." She looked at Hailey. "I still think that we should complain about this."

The previous day after Mandy's detention, Mandy had said that they should complain about Umbridge's detention methods to Flitwick.

"We can't," said Hailey.

"Flitwick won't stand for this—this torture," said Mandy.

"I know he won't," said Hailey. "But how long would it take for Umbridge to pass another decree saying that anyone who complains about the 'High Inquisitor' gets sacked immediately?" She added, "And since he has goblin ancestry, another reason for her to get rid of him."

"She's just horrible," said Michael.

"Worse than horrible," said Mandy. "She's a madwoman."

"Yeah," said Michael.

"Before you two came in, we were discussing Umbridge and we've got to do something about her," said Hermione.

"I suggested poison," said Ron in a grim voice.

"Sue was right when she requested to be exempt from Defence," said Hermione. "We're not going to learn any Defence from her at all."

"We can't do anything about her," said Michael.

"Besides, Fudge will make sure she's here to stay," said Ron.

"Well," said Hermione tentatively. She gave Hailey a nervous look. "I was thinking that—maybe the time's come when we should just—just do it ourselves."

Mandy eyed Hermione suspiciously, "What are you suggesting Hermione?"

"Well—learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves," said Hermione.

"Come off it," groaned Ron. "You want us to do extra work? D'you realise I'm behind on homework again and it's only the second week?"

"This is much more important than homework!" said Hermione.

The three Ravenclaws and Ron looked at Hermione surprised.

"Who are you?" asked Mandy. "That was something Hermione would never say."

"There are things much more important than homework," said Hermione. "It's about preparing ourselves, for what's waiting for us out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year—"

"How can we take on jobs outside of Hogwarts?" finished Mandy.

"But we can't do much by ourselves," said Ron sounding defeated. "I mean, all right, we can go and look jinxes up in the library and try and practise them, I suppose—"

"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," said Hemrione. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."

"Lupin might help," said Mandy. "Or maybe Flitwick. He's a duelling champion. Maybe Colton's mum…"

"No, no," said Hermione. "I'm not talking about Lupin, since he's busy with the Order, and the most we could see him is during Hogsmeade weekends—"

"Which isn't often," said Michael. "And Flitwick would try to help, but there's the possibility of him getting sacked and Colton's mum has the same problem as Lupin."

"Who, then?" asked Hailey.

Hermione sighed, "Isn't it obvious I'm talking about _you_ , Hailey."

Hailey stared at Hermione blankly? Her being a teacher? Teaching Defence? She looked at Ron, to see if he was giving the same exasperated look that he usually gives her when Hermione's talking about S.P.E.W. schemes.

However, Ron wasn't looking exasperated, but he was frowning slightly, apparently thinking the idea over. "That's an idea."

"An idea?" asked Hailey nervously.

"Yeah, teaching us Defence," said Ron.

"But I'm not a teacher," started Hailey. "I can't—"

"Hailey, you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione.

"No I'm not, you've beaten in every test—"

"Actually, I haven't," replied Hermione. "You beat me in our third year—the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Hailey. Think what you've _done._ "

Hailey had to think about it. There was the Philosopher's Stone, which she got because Voldemort couldn't touch her. "If you're talking about the Philosopher's Stone, that was because he couldn't touch me due to my mum's protection charm."

"Second year," Ron interrupted, "You killed the Basilisk and destroyed Riddle."

"Actually, Michael destroyed Riddle by stabbing Riddle's diary," said Hailey. "But if Fawkes hadn't turned up—"

Ron interrupted, "Third year, you fought off about a hundred Dementors at once—"

Hailey was growing uneasy, "That was a fluke, if the Time-Turner hadn't—"

"Last year you fought off You-Know-Who _again_ —" Ron said, almost shouting.

"Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck—I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help—" She realised that was what they were implying. She had experience fighting Voldemort. "I don't know."

"Well, think about it," said Hermione. "Please?"

Hailey nodded. She wasn't sure if she could teach them. It seemed like Umbridge was trying to give Hailey an excuse to get detention.

"Well, Ron and I have to go back to our common room," said Hermione. "Night…"

"Erm…yeah," said Hailey as the two Gryffindors left.

"You don't have to teach us," said Michael as soon as the door left. "We can think of something else you know."

"I know," said Hailey.

"But like she said, think about it," said Michael. "Night."

"Night," said Hailey. Michael kissed her on the cheek, patted Mandy's shoulder, and went upstairs.

"Like Michael said," said Mandy. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to. I know Hermione can come off a little too strong…"

"It's fine," said Hailey. "I just…I just don't know if I want too or not. I know I did all that, but with the way Umbridge is acting, it's like she wants an excuse to give me detention. And where am I supposed to teach you four anyway? Madam Pince won't appreciate us practicing in the library, the Shrieking Shack is to small, and there's no way in _hell_ that I'm going into the Forbidden Forest."

"I don't know," said Mandy. "But think about it and I'm sure we can think of something."

"I'm going to bed," said Hailey. She went upstairs and got into bed.

She had dreamt of long corridors, locked doors, and when she woke up the next day, her scar was prickling again.


	16. In The Hog's Head

For the past two weeks, Hermione didn't bring up the idea up to Hailey again. Mandy had finished her round of Detention with Umbridge and she would scowl at her hand every few minutes. Ron had four more Quidditch practices and hr told them that he hadn't been shouted at all during them, and they had managed to Vanish their mice in Transfiguration, apparently Hermione had progressed to Vanishing kittens. It was a wild, blustery evening at the end of September when Hermione brought it up again. They were sitting in the library, looking up potion ingredients for Snape.

"I was wondering whether you'd thought any more about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Hailey," Hermione said suddenly.

"Course I have," Hailey replied. "Can't forget it with that hag teaching us nothing—"

"I meant the idea that Ron, Michael, and I had—" Hermione started, but the two boys gave her surprised looks. She corrected herself, "The idea that I had, then—about you teaching us."

Hailey pretended to read a page of _Asiatic Anti-Venoms_. She had thought about it for the past two weeks. Every now and then, she had considered the idea, thinking about the spells that had helped her with her encounters with Dark creatures, Death Eaters, and even Voldemort himself. However, at other times, she had thought the idea was silly and insane. Once, she had suddenly found herself planning a lesson when she was snogging Michael in the empty common room. That had startled her so much that she had accidentally pulled roughly on Michael's hair when she jerked back in surprise.

She realised that she couldn't pretend that _Asiatic Anti-Venoms_ very interesting, even though it was. Slowly she said, "Yeah, I—I've thought about it a bit."

"A bit?" asked Michael incredulously.

Hailey guessed that he was still a little annoyed by her accidentally pulling his hair.

"Anyway?" prompted Hermione eagerly.

"I dunno," replied Hailey. She was trying to bid herself some more time so she can gather what she really wanted or how she felt about that idea. She looked at Ron to see what his reaction would be.

"I thought it was a good idea from the start," replied Ron looking keen knowing that Hailey wouldn't start yelling at them.

Hailey shifted feeling uncomfortable She pointedly asked, "You did listen to what I said about a load of luck, didn't you?"

"Yes, Hailey, but all the same, there's no pretending that you're not good at Defence Against the Dark Arts, because you are," Hermione stated. "You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said—"

"Yeah? What did Vicky say?" asked Ron. He had looked round at Hermione so quickly that he must've gotten a crick in his neck because he was rubbing his neck.

"Ho ho," replied Hermione sounding bored. "He said that Hailey knew how to do stuff that even he didn't, and he was in his final year at Durmstrang."

Ron was now looking at Hermione suspiciously. "You're not still in contact with him, are you?"

"So what if I am?" replied Hermione coolly, her face a little pink. "I can have a pen-pal if I—"

"Only he didn't want to be your pen-pal," interrupted Ron sounding accusatory.

"Oh, my god," groaned Michael looking up at the ceiling.

Mandy rolled her eyes and Hailey almost face-palmed at that because she wasn't in the mood to hear them argue.

Hermione turned to face Hailey, apparently ignoring Ron's accusation. "Well, what do you think? Will you teach us?"

Hailey was momentarily thankful that Hermione wasn't going to argue with Ron. She looked at her friends, "Just you four, year?"

"Well," Hermione started looking anxious. "Well…now, I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we're talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort." Ron winced, "Oh, don't be pathetic, Ron. It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people."

Hailey considered that. Would anyone, besides probably Luna and Colton, want _her_ teaching them? She was the school nutter after all. Everyone acted like she was contagious and probably wouldn't want her craziness to rub off on them. "Yeah, but I doubt anyone, except for you four, would want to be taught by the school nutter."

"Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you've got to say," said Hermione seriously. "Look—" she leaned towards Hailey, "you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"

Hailey wondered what Hermione had done and wondered how many people Hermione was talking about.

"Why do we have to do it outside?" asked Ron.

"Umbridge would have a heart attack if she knows what we're up to," said Mandy.

"Oh," said Ron. In a cheerful tone, he added, "In that case, I don't see why we can't do it in Hogwarts."

* * *

Hailey worried over Sirius. He had been silent with them since the beginning of September since he had appeared in the fire. Hailey knew that they had made him angry by saying that they didn't want him to come, but they had to be smart about it. Draco implied that he knew that Sirius was an Animagus, and it would look suspicious if a big black dog just bounded up to them in Hogsmeade. Hailey told Mandy and Michael about her fears.

"Well, I don't blame him for wanting to go out," said Michael. "He's just shut up with that horrible elf all the time."

"And he was on the run for two years, which although probably wasn't fun, but at least he was _free,_ you know?" replied Mandy.

Hailey felt bad for turning Sirius down like that now that they had put it like that.

"The problem is," started Michael quickly, "Until You-Know-Who comes out in the open, Sirius is going to have stay hidden. The bloody Ministry isn't going to accept Sirius's innocent until they accept the fact that Dumbledore's been telling them the truth. And once the damn fools start catching real Death Eaters, it'll be obvious that Sirius wasn't one…he doesn't even have the Mark for starters."

"I doubt Sirius is stupid enough to turn up in Hogsmeade," said Mandy. "I think Sirius listens to Dumbledore, even though Sirius might not like what he'll hear."

"Hermione told me that she and Ron had been talking to people who they might want to learn some proper Defence Against the Dark Arts and apparently there's a few who seemed interested," said Michael. "And I've talked to Terry, Anthony, Stephan, and Roger Malone about it. Terry and Anthony seemed interested though. We've told them to meet us in Hogsmeade."

Hailey almost didn't hear him since her mind was still on the situation with Sirius.

"Don't worry about Sirius, Hailey," said Mandy in a quiet voice. "You're dealing with enough without Sirius bothering you. He spent twelve years in Azkaban, which doesn't sound like a picnic in a meadow, but being in a place he hates for a bit should be a pic"

It was true. She was barely managing keeping up with homework, even without dealing with Umbridge's detentions. She had Quidditch practice with Roger Davies. Ron was far behind with his Quidditch practice twice a week, but he also had his prefect duties.

* * *

The morning of the Hogsmeade was bright and windy. After breakfast they lined up in front of Filch, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission to visit the village. Hailey remembered that if Sirius hadn't signed her permission form, she wouldn't be going to visit Hogsmeade at all and she felt a slight pang of guilt. When Hailey got to Filch, the caretakers inhaled deeply as if trying to smell something coming from the fifth-year. After Filch deemed her clean he gave a curt nod and Hailey walked on and outside onto the stone steps of the castle where her friends were waiting.

"Er—why was Filch sniffing you?" asked Ron as they started off towards the gates.

"I suppose he was checking for the smell of Dungbombs," replied Hailey and gave a small laugh. "Oh, I forgot to tell you…" She recounted the story of sending off the letter to Sirius and Filch bursting in a few seconds letter, demanding to see the letter that she had already sent. She had purposely left out the part of kissing Michael and Filch running in on that, since they didn't need to know that. Hermione and Mandy seemed to find it a lot more interesting though.

"But who told him that you were ordering Dungbombs and why?" questioned Mandy.

"Yeah, who did?" asked Hermione.

Hailey shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe Malfoy. He'd think it would be a laugh."

"Malfoy?" questioned Hermione, sounding skeptical. "Well…yes…maybe…"

She remained deep in thought as they walked all the way into the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

"Where are we going, anyway?" asked Hailey. "The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh—no," said Hermione. "No, it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pun, you know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit…you know… _dodgy_ …but students don't normally go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard."

They walked down the main street past Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop spotting Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, which wasn't a surprise. However they were surprised to see Eva and her friend, Ivy, with them, talking. They went past the post office and they turned up a side-street where at the top stood a small dingy looking inn.

A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture on it of a wild boar's severed head, leaking blood on to the white cloth around it. The sign was creaking in the wind as they approached the inn. They stood outside the door looking at the Hog's Head.

"Well, come on," said Hermione in a slightly nervous tone.

Hailey wasn't sure why Hermione was nervous since she was the one that was supposed to be meeting a few people that she was supposed to teach. She took a deep breath and grabbed Michael's hand for comfort. She led the way inside.

The Hog's Head wasn't clean or warm like how the Three Broomsticks was. The Hog's Head bar was actually made up of one small, dingy and very dirty room which smelled strongly of something that Hailey was sure was goats. The bay windows were so dirty that very little daylight could even break into the room. The only light source was coming from the stubs of candles that were sitting on rough looking wooden tables that looked like it needed to be sanded down. Hailey glanced down to see that the ground had looked to be made out of dirt but now that she looked more closely it was made up of stone that had picked up filth over the centuries.

Hailey remembered Hagrid mentioning the pub during their first year when he was explaining how he won a dragon's head from a hooded stranger. She could see that keeping their faces hidden was mandatory. There was one person who had their head wrapped in dirty grey bandages, though they was still managing to gulp a smoking, fiery substance through a slight over their mouth, there was two figures shrouded in hoods at a table in front one of the windows, and in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace was a witch with a thick, black veil that went down to her toes. The only thing that they could see was the tip of her nose which protruded out.

"Mmm," said Mandy. "I'm _definitely_ feeling the warm, welcoming environment, Hermione."

"I agree with Mandy," replied Hailey quietly as they walked to the bar. "I don't know about this, Hermione."

"Do you think that Umbridge might be under that veil?" asked Michael.

Hermione looked at the woman for a few moments before saying, "Umbridge is shorter than that woman. And anyway, even if Umbridge does come in here, she can't do anything to stop us, because I've double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds; I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come in the Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring our own glasses."

"Did someone get sick from drinking from the glasses here?" wondered Mandy. "And if so, how _badly_?"

"That's a _very_ good question," replied Michael eyeing one of the dirty glasses on the counter.

"I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we _parade_ what we're doing."

"Obviously not," replied Hailey dryly, "Especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning now is it?"

The barman sidled towards them out of a back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and even had a short beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Hailey.

"What?" he grunted.

"Five Butterbeers, please," said Hermione.

The man reached beneath the counter and pulled up six very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar.

Mandy jerked back in shock.

"Twelve Sickles," replied the man.

"I'll get them," replied Hailey quickly, passing over the silver.

The barman looked over Hailey, looking at her scar for almost a second, and then he turned away, depositing the money in an ancient wooden till. The till's drawer had opened automatically to receive it. The fifth-years grabbed their drinks and went to a table furthest from the bar. They sat down and looked around. The man in the bandages rapped the counter with his knuckles and received another smoking drink from the barman.

"You know what?" Ron murmured, looking over at the bar, "We could order anything we liked in here. I bet that bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn't care. I've always wanted to try Firewhisky—"

"You! Are! A! _Prefect_!" snarled Hermione.

"Oh," said Ron his smile fading, "Yeah…"

"So, who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" asked Hailey wrenching open the rusty top of her Butterbeer. She took a swig. "Michael mentioned that Anthony and Terry seemed interested."

Hermione checked her watch, "Just a couple of people. I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is—oh, look, this might be them now."

Hailey turned to see the door of the pub opening and a crowd of people walked in.

First was Neville with Dean and Lavender, followed by Cho and Marietta, then Luna and Colton, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Malachi Lovelace, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Anthony, Terry, Ginny, Zacharias Smith, Ginny, and to her surprise Eva and Ivy came in followed by Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. All four of them were holding bags from Zonko's.

"A couple of people?" replied Hailey hoarsely. She looked at Hermione and repeated, " _A couple of people?_ "

"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," said Hermione happily. "Ron, do you want to pull some more chairs?"

The barman had frozen in the act of wiping out a glass with a rag so filthy it looked as though it had never been washed. It was possible he had never seen his pub so full before.

"Hi," said Fred, reaching the bar first. He counted his companions quickly and said, "could we have…twenty-seven Butterbeers, please."

The barman glared at Fred for some reason and threw down his rag, and started passing up dusty Butterbeers from under the bar. Hailey guessed that the barman had figured cleaning his glasses was a lot more better than taking a customer's order.

"Cheers," said Fred passing them out. "Cough up, everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of these…"

Hailey felt numb as she watched as the large group took their drinks from Fred and rummaged in their robes to find coins. She wasn't sure what they were expecting? A speech perhaps? She turned to Hermione, "What have you been telling people? What are they expecting?"

"I've told you, they just want to hear what you've got to say," replied Hermione. Hailey glared at Hermione, "You don't have to do anything yet; I'll speak to them first."

Neville was beaming as he sat across from Hailey, "Hi, Hailey."

Hailey tried to smile back at him, but she was to nervous to even smile back.

In twos and threes the new arrivals settled around Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. Some looked excited, others were curious, while Luna gazed into space while Colton looked interested in whatever Hailey had to say. When everyone was seated, they looked at Hailey.

"Er, well, er, hi," said Hermione, her voice higher because she was nervous. "You all know why we're here. Hailey here had the idea—" Hailey gave her a sharp look. Hermione corrected herself, "I had the idea—that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts—and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us—because nobody could call that Defence Against the Dark Arts—"

"Hear, hear," called Anthony.

Hermione looked heartened and continued, "Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" demanded Zacharias in a rather aggressive sounding voice.

"Why, because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot," snapped Ron.

Michael turned to look at Zacharias.

Zacharias nodded towards Hailey, "So she says."

"So Dumbledore says," countered Hermione.

"So Dumbledore says because she says!" snarled Zacharias, "The point is, where's the proof?"

Before Hailey could say anything, Hermione said, "Look, that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about—"

"It's okay, Hermione," replied Hailey. She was sure that some of these people—maybe even most of them—had turned up in the hopes of hearing Hailey's story firsthand. She looked at Zacharias, "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me now, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

The whole group seemed to be holding their breath. Hailey had the impression that even the barman was listening in because he kept wiping the same glass with his filthy rag, making it dirtier than it previously was.

"All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts," said Zacharias dismissively. "He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know—"

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone, I can't help you with that," interrupted Hailey coldly. She kept looking at Zacharias as she spoke, "I don't want to talk about Cedric, all right?" She looked at the group as a whole, "So if that's why you're here, you might as well leave now." She glared at Hermione since she was sure that it was Hermione's fault. Hermione was the one who brought them here after all. Hailey looked back at the group. None of them had moved. Surprisingly, Zacharias didn't leave.

"So," started Hermione, her voice high-pitched again. "So…like I was saying…if you want to learn some defence, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet and where we're going to—"

"Is it true that you can produce a Patronus?" asked Susan.

"Yeah," replied Hailey a little to defensively for her own liking.

"A corporeal Patronus?" questioned Susan.

Hailey remembered that same question being asked from her expulsion hearing. "Are you related to Madam Bones from the Ministry?"

"She's my auntie," Susan said smiling. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So—is it really true? You make a doe Patronus?"

"Yes," said Hailey.

"Blimey, Hailey!" said Lee, looking deeply impressed. "I never knew that!"

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around," said Fred, grinning at Hailey. "She said you got enough attention as it was."

"She's not wrong," mumbled Hailey and she heard a few people laugh.

"And Michael and Mandy told us that you killed a Basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office," said Terry. "Also one of the portraits on the wall told me that when I was in there last year…"

"Er—yeah, I did, yeah," replied Hailey taken aback.

"It's true," supplied Ginny.

Her input seemed to work since she was down in the Chamber of Secrets while that happened, since she was the other witness, besides Michael.

Justin whistled, the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck look and Lavender said, "Cool!"

Hailey felt slightly embarrassed over that.

"And in our first year," added Neville, "she saved that Philological Stone—"

"Philosopher's," corrected Hermione.

"Yes, that—from You-Know-Who," finished Neville.

"Third year, she fought off about a hundred dementors at once," added Ron.

"And all the tasks that you had to do for the Triwizard Tournament, getting past the dragons, merpeople and Acromantula and all that stuff," said Cho.

Hailey thought it was a little strange with Cho complimenting her, but she figured that Cho said it because she was watching Cedric too.

"Wait…look it all sounds _great_ when you all say it like that. But the truth is most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I nearly always had help…" started Hailey.

"Not with the dragon, you didn't," said Michael. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying…"

"Yeah, well…" started Hailey feeling like it be rude to throw off her boyfriend's compliment.

"And nobody helped you get rid of those Dementors this summer," added Susan.

"No, no, okay," said Hailey quickly, "I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is—"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" asked Zacharias.

"Here's an idea, why don't you shut your mouth?" said Ron loudly. Apparently the word 'weasel' was a trigger word for him. He was also looking at Zacharias like he wanted nothing better than to thump Zacharias.

Zacharias countered, "Well, we've all turned up to learn from her and now she's telling us that she can't really do any of it."

"That's not what she's saying," snarled Eva. She and Ivy was sitting with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan. "She's saying that she did all that stuff, but she had help from others getting to that point. Clean out your ears, Smith."

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" asked George pulling out a long and lethal-looking metal instrument from inside on of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Fred.

"I'll hold his arms down," said Eva standing up.

"And I'll get his legs," said Ivy getting to her feet too.

"Yes, well," said Hermione quickly to diffuse the situation before the two third-years could get their hands on Smith. The two third-years sat down. "Moving on…the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Hailey?"

There was a murmur of agreement. Zacharias crossed his arms and said nothing; because he was too busy keeping an eye on the instrument in Fred's hand. Zacharias was also keeping an eye on Eva and Ivy who somehow moved their way to be closer to him so they can glare at him without anyone noticing.

"Right," said Hermione looking relieved. "Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week—"

"Hang on," said Angelina, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," said Cho, "Nor with ours."

"Nor ours," added Zacharias.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Hermione sounding impatient, "But you know, this is rather important. We're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters—"

"Well said!" said Ernie. "Personally, I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!" He looked around as if waiting for someone to contradict him. When he was satisfied that no one would, he went on, "I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells—"

"We think it's because she's got some…some mad idea that Dumbledore might use all of us as some kind of private army to attack the Ministry," stated Mandy.

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news, except Luna.

"Well, that makes sense," said Luna. "After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army." Colton looked like he wanted to face-palm at Luna's statement.

"What?" asked Hailey feeling thrown off by the unexpected piece of information. But then again this was Luna…

"Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths," said Luna in a solemn tone.

"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.

"Yes, he has," said Luna.

"What are Heliopaths?" asked Neville.

"They're spirits of fire," said Luna. Her eyes had widen so she looked madder than ever, "They're great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of—"

"They don't exist, Neville," cut in Hermione.

"Oh, yes, they do!" said Luna angrily.

"I'm sorry, but where's the proof of that?" snapped Hermione.

Luna said, "There are plenty of eye-witness accounts. Just because you're so narrow-minded you need to—"

A shrill whistle sounded in the bar, making everyone cringe at the sound.

Mandy had her hand to her mouth. "As much as I love watching arguments, but I think this is more important than hearing two people argue over the existence of Heliopaths. We still need to decide on how often we need to meet."

"Yes, you're right, Mandy," said Hermione at once.

"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Lee.

Angelina started, "As long as—"

"Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," said Hermione in a tense voice. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"

They fell silent, trying to decide where.

"Library?" suggested Katie Bell after a few moments.

"Madam Pince won't be too thrilled with us doing jinxes in the library," said Mandy.

"Maybe an unused classroom?" suggested Dean.

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "McGonagall might let us have hers. She did when Hailey was practising for the Triwizard Tournament."

"I think this is considered more rebellious," said Eva with her hand raised. "We're doing defence spells that Umbridge won't teach us. Actually, we're learning things that she's not teaching. She won't be too happy if word spreads. There's bound to be rumours if we used a classroom."

"You're right, Eva," said Hermione. "Well, we'll try to find somewhere. We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting." She looked through her bag and took out parchment and a quill. She hesitated, as if she was preparing to say something. "I—I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think, that we all ought agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge or anybody else what we're up to."

Fred was the first one to cheerfully sign his name.

Hailey noticed that several people didn't look happy to sign their names. "Do you all honestly think that we'll just leave the list lying around? We're not that thick."

When Zacharias finished signing his name, Hermione took the parchment and put it carefully into her bag as if she had something explosive. Well, Hailey was sure that it if the list was found, it would probably make Umbridge explode in anger.

"Well, time's ticking on, George, Lee, Eva, Ivy, and I have got items of a sensitive nature to purchase, we'll be seeing you all later," said Fred.

Michael looked confused at that as the Weasley twins, Lee, Eva, and Ivy left the pub with their bags.

The group left the pub in twos or threes.

After a few moments, they left the Hog's Head, Hermione said, "Well, I think that went quite well."

"That Zacharias bloke's a wart," grumbled Ron as he glared at Zacharias as the oddly aggressive Hufflepuff walked away in the distance.

"I don't like him much, either," admitted Hermione.

"He's a prat," said Michael.

Mandy shrugged, "Well, you just got to think about it from his point-of-view, though." They looked at her and Mandy continued, "Hailey came back with Cedric's body and Dumbledore says not to ask her any questions on how he died, and Dumbledore claims You-Know-Who is back. You got to remember that he supposedly died fourteen years ago. He's a person so evil that he killed families and he struck fear in everyone.

"Hearing he's back will make anyone laugh. It's no wonder why no one wants to believe he's back because they want to live in safety. It's hard to believe especially with no proof other than a girl who has been slandered as an attention-seeker and who's being slandered as a stark-raving madwoman. I had to convince my parents that Hailey wasn't a liar, because it was hard for them to believe that someone so evil is back."

Mandy looked at Hailey, "I get it's a frustrating thing for you, knowing the truth, but you've got to think about their point-of-view."

"You got a point, Mandy," said Hailey softly.

They turned into the High Street and Hermione stopped outside Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. "Hmm…I could do with a new quill." She walked into the shop and the others followed after her.

"I just wonder what Eva and Ivy are doing with the Weasley twins," muttered Michael.


End file.
